Made to Be Broken

Résumé du livre

For many years I was trapped in a horrifying, patriarchal nightmare. My father and my husband had one over-riding obsession, which was to control me by any means available to them. I had no support from my mother who betrayed me, time and time again. Because I was disobedient, my parents kidnapped and imprisoned me. Likewise, my husband withheld financial support and when this failed to subdue me, he bashed and raped me. I was pulled apart by these people and there didn't seem to be any comfortable middle ground I could occupy. After years of this stress, when it was safe, I suffered a punishing nervous breakdown. I discovered that the who I thought I was, wasn't, and I didn't know who I was, nor did I know where to start in order to get to know myself, or if there was even a self for me to get to know.This was the life journey for many women of my generation. We survived the fifties. We made a womens' movement. I became strong. I divorced my husband and had him run out of town. My father died and I kept my mother at a distance. Then I raised my children, I wrote books, I mounted art exhibitions and I built houses. My brutal treatment was not fair, but nevertheless, I was handed a rich resource which I now draw on for my inspiration.