Book Summary

This book is about a woman who had come to America from Kashmir India. She had no knowledge about American culture or American Justice System. She was married in India and her husband brought her to America. In America, her husband started abusing her. Being culturally bound, she kept taking abuse on a daily basis and kept lying about her bruises and cuts to those who were asking her questions about her injuries. Abuse got worse to the extent that one day her husband tried to kill her. She gained her consciousness after a couple of hours when her husband decided to dump her body in the park. Somehow, in the morning, she managed to escape with her two children. She went to a women’s shelter where she lived for six months.

Legal Challenges and Personal Struggles

In the shelter, they insisted that she had to go to court to get a restraining order for her safety. In that process, her children were taken by the court and were given to that abusive man from whom they had a narrow escape. She was forced to pay child support when she had not taken even a single cent from her home or from her husband after she left. Her two children were given to their father because she was going to school. The judge punished her and her two children for trying to establish their life. Her children suffered the most because of the justice system.

Author’s Purpose

I wrote this book for two reasons. One reason is to tell my children, especially my son, that I am very sorry for taking my case to the American justice system because his father has kept him in fear. Even though my son is now an adult, his father is still treating him like he was treating me, and my son is kept in a lot of fear, stress, and extreme tension. His father didn’t let him complete his education. If he had encouraged my son to complete his education, then he wouldn’t be able to control my son’s life. That is tearing my heart every day.

The second reason is that I want to help battered women and their children by telling them my story. I was a very private person, but that didn’t help me. Every battered woman in this country should know that when a man hits his wife, it is not love. It is a danger sign. Figure out on time about safety zones for yourself and for your children. My story will guide them to be strong enough to help their children.