by Karen DeArmond Gardner | Dec 19, 2022 | Shame, Coercive Control Violence, Domestic Violence
You couldn’t have known. He hid a monster beneath the tux, behind the smile and the vow to love, honor, and cherish. You couldn’t have known. What was to come. The trauma, abuse, torture, and torment wrapped in marriage. You couldn’t have known. He was a con man, a...
by Karen DeArmond Gardner | Oct 30, 2020 | Shame, Another One Free, Domestic Violence
She struggled to not grumble, even though she’s fatigued and disheartened. Tired of merely looking down, drained from the misery, yearning for the days when she could stand tall, to look into someone’s eyes. For eighteen long years, her only view was dirt and filthy...
by Karen DeArmond Gardner | Oct 23, 2020 | Shame, Coercive Control Violence, Domestic Violence
We have been friends for as long as I can remember, two peas in a pod. When you are lonely I console you. When you are low I will take you lower. You don’t even know I am here, tagging along wherever you go. I distort your image as you look into the mirror to reflect...
