RADV Article: You Are Not Alone
There are three words we want every survivor to hear today: You are not alone. Abuse has a way of convincing you otherwise. It can make your world smaller and smaller until it feels like there is nobody left to turn to. Friends may have drifted away. Family relationships may have become strained. You may […]
RADV Article: They Feel It Too — When Domestic Violence Affects Our Pets
When we talk about domestic violence, we naturally talk about the people living through it. But sometimes there is another victim in the room. The dog hiding beneath the table. The cat disappearing into another room when voices begin to rise. The animal that once greeted everyone at the door but now becomes nervous at […]
RADV Article: Again.
There is a word I want every survivor to hold onto today. Again. You will have hope again. You will dream again. You will smile without forcing it again. You will laugh—the kind of laugh that comes from somewhere deep inside you and makes you forget, even for a moment, everything you’ve been through. You […]
RADV Article: Your Children Are Watching — Own Your Choices
There is strength in being a man who can say: “I was wrong.” Not “but she…” Not “you don’t understand…” Not “look what they did to me first…” Just: “I was wrong. I made that choice. I need to do better.” That is accountability. And if you are a father, grandfather, stepfather, uncle, coach, mentor, […]
Before There Was RADV
Chapter 5: Back to the Dumpster Last Saturday, I told you about walking out of the hospital with donated clothes, a small bag, and nowhere to go. What I didn’t tell you was what happened next. This is one of the hardest parts of my story for me to write. Because even after all these […]
When Pain Becomes a Belief
Some survivors have been ignored. Some have been blamed. Some have walked into a police station or courtroom looking for protection and left feeling even more broken. Those experiences are real, and they should never be minimized. But we also have to be careful that one painful experience—or even many painful experiences—doesn’t convince us that […]
RADV Presents: The Ripple Effect
Changing Tomorrow by Investing in Today Series #10: The Legacy You Leave When people think about leaving a legacy, they often think about money. A house. A business. An inheritance. But the greatest legacy you’ll ever leave can’t be written into a will. It’s written into people. Long after we’re gone, our influence remains. It […]
Don’t Let Your Abuser Steal the Real You
Abuse doesn’t always leave visible scars. Sometimes the deepest wounds are the ones that change how you see yourself. Little by little, an abuser chips away at your confidence. They tell you that you’re too emotional, too sensitive, too weak, too difficult to love. They isolate you from the people who remind you of your […]
RADV Article: Don’t Let Yesterday or Tomorrow Steal Today
There is a trap that many survivors of domestic violence know all too well. One foot is stuck in yesterday. The other is trapped in tomorrow. Yesterday whispers:“Remember what happened to you.”“Remember the lies, the betrayal, the fear.”“You’ll never be the same.” Tomorrow whispers something different:“What if it happens again?”“What if I fail?”“What if no […]
The Best Revenge Is Living the Life They Said You Never Could
One of the greatest lies an abuser tells is that you will never make it without them. They tell you no one will love you.That you’ll fail.That you’ll come crawling back.That you’re too weak, too broken, too damaged to survive on your own. Those words aren’t truth.They’re control. When you finally leave an abusive relationship, […]