MY LEANING POST

In Quimby’s semi-fictionalized account, one woman shares the shame and struggle of abuse and the spiritual journey she undertook to move past it.

This chronicle is based on the author’s own experiences, and offers readers a glimpse at what victims of domestic violence experience. Elizabeth Baldwin grew up on a rural farm and was raised in a strict Catholic church; her family and religion largely shaped her adult life. Her father constantly belittled her mother, who hardly ever spoke, and had an affair with his wife’s live-in half-sister. Elizabeth felt the weight of shame early as a result of her Catholic upbringing. As she grew into adulthood, she fell into a series of abusive relationships during which her four children were also mistreated. The book gives readers a glimpse inside the thoughts and lives of women in destructive relationships and why they remain trapped in them. In Elizabeth’s case, she felt unworthy of true love, particularly after having a child out of wedlock and committing adultery (which was, in fact, more akin to rape). It wasn’t until she realized the love and mercy of God that she found freedom. Readers see Elizabeth’s difficult journey to escape a violent life. Because the characters are drawn from the author’s life, they are well-developed and reflect true tendencies, reactions and emotions. That the book presents a semi-autobiographical unmitigated look at abusive fathers and husbands makes the violence all the more horrifying. Many pity these women and wonder why they don’t leave their husbands, but the novel illustrates a common reason: a lack of self-worth. Ill-treatment was hard to overcome, says Elizabeth, and even more difficult to share with others. Yet, in finding the courage to leave her husband and tell her story, Elizabeth discovers life is more than the shame she was trapped in for most of her life. 

An inspirational story of a women’s painful pursuit to escape the guilt that imprisoned her.