Introduction
Essential Trigger Warnings
Domestic Violence / Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): This is the core of the book. You should specify that it includes both physical and emotional abuse.
Attempted Murder / Strangulation: Because of the intensity of the “blackout” scene, strangulation is a specific and very high-level trigger for many survivors.
Murder-for-Hire: The plot involving the hitman is a unique and chilling element of your story.
Child Abuse / Endangerment: Even though you acted as their shield, the children were witnesses to violence and were ultimately discarded by their father.
Alcoholism / Substance Abuse: The “Great Pretender’s” drinking is a constant catalyst for his behavior.
Suicidal Ideation / Threats: Mention that the antagonist uses threats of self-harm to manipulate and trap the protagonist.
Medical Trauma / Terminal Illness: The chapters regarding your mother’s cancer and her passing are deeply emotional.
PTSD & Panic Attacks: You describe the physiological effects of trauma (nausea, agoraphobia, panic) in vivid detail.
The Hands Around My Throat
Eyes filled with fear, locked on his, his hands tightening around my throat.
Nails dug into his arms, his face, anything I could reach during the struggle.
Saved, he was pulled off me. I was free, and I was alive.
Days pass, and every emotion rages through me.
I stayed in the house, I stayed sleeping next to him.
There won’t be a next time, he’s getting help... that’s the lies you tell yourself.
Another big fight, he makes you leave... You leave knowing if you stay... You may not walk out.
Days pass, and more emotions rage.
You pick up the pieces of your soul and try to start over.
So, why... Why do you miss him?
Why do you feel like you’re nothing without him?
That every harsh, cruel thing he ever said to you was true.
That when he said he should have just killed you, you felt that shit..you felt it as if it was true.
Because of the pain of losing him, the kids everything, too much to bear.
You have no idea what to do or where to go.
The pain from all the loss in the last few months, suffocating you more than the hands around your throat.
Wouldn’t it have been easier if he had succeeded?
Then you smack yourself with reality, there wouldn’t have been peace in death, just more pain for everyone else.
Is there an end to the torment, the hell you live in?
Will the hands around my throat ever be gone?
