In the Open

Women Survivors of Abuse Tell Their Stories

Edited by Kathleen Tudor

“Like all the women who took part in this book, I have a message for you. Please remember that no matter how desperate and hopeless your situation may get, there is a way out. I found my way out and for the first time in nine years I feel free!

“I wish all of you the power and strength it takes to discover your own freedom, and I pray that all of the pain that you endure until then will form a path to your independence and freedom.” —Jean Marie MacDonald

“If anyone who reads my story is in a similar situation, and you feel like I did, that there is no way out, you are wrong. Don’t be silent because you feel ashamed of what is happening to you. You have nothing to b ashamed of. What is happening to you is against the law. It is a crime. All you have to do is reach out.” —Karen Blades

Contents

Contributors:

• Irene L. Moore
• Annette
• Cynthis M. Clarke
• R.L. Stoddard
• Anonymous
• Beth Witbe
• Barbara S. Laird
• Michelle (Whitenect) Zastre
• Becca Roe
• Silvana Doty Amero
• Nadine
• V. Christine Brantnall
• Debbie Wray Nickerson
• Sue MacLeod
• Diane McKay
• Barbara Acker
• Jean-Marie MacDonald
• Jenni Blackmore
• Ann J. Thibeau
• The Doormats
• Karen Blades
• Elisha Sartanya
• Sally West
• Alice
• Sandra L. Mansfield
• Sheree Fitch
• Katie Blue
• Linda M. Van Horn
• Penny L. Ferguson
• Laurie Johnstone

About the Author

Kathleen K. Tudor was born in a large fishing family on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Kathleen taught English literature and creative writing for twenty years. After her retirement she established Roseway Publishing, which for seventeen years published many award-winning Nova Scotian writers. In 1997 she founded Community Books, a self-publishing company, which still publishes writers from east to west in Canada. In 1992, her novel, Getting Away, was published. Kathleen has published a number of short stories, some of which were read on the CBC and the BBC. She continues to write.