When she became engaged to a friend

Sarah Winters believed she was finally free from her parents' control and an arranged marriage of their choice. Even better yet, she was certain the life she had read about in fairy tales would now be hers. Unfortunately, she could not have been more wrong.

In a poignant narrative, Winters chronicles the chain of events that led her into the darkness of an abusive marriage and the profound eventual realization that she must escape. As she reveals how she searched for answers amid endless and brutal abuse, Winters also describes her husband's true character as it surfaced through his actions fueled by jealousy, mistrust, and insecurities. Finally after she decided to escape by seeking asylum abroad, Winters details how she secretly left the country and returned home, vowing to face any consequences (even death) at the hands of her husband.

Why I Stayed in an Abusive Marriage

is a story of immense courage, perseverance, a never-give-up attitude that chronicles a woman's experiences with an eventual escape from decades of abuse.