Knight in Tarnished Armor

A Survivor's Memoir of Domestic Abuse

There are many very good books written about domestic violence.  Books by pastors counselors, psychologists, and lawyers.  Not often do you read a book about domestic violence written by a victim.  There are many reasons for this; some victims become statistics, all victims feel shameful about what happened to them, most are too afraid of their abuser to expose his dirty secrets, most don't want to relive the abuse by writing about it and some don't have the ability to put their experiences on paper to share with others, even if they wanted to. 

     I have written Knight in Tarnished Armor, not because I wanted to, but because I felt I had to. There had to be a reason for the experiences I went through. If it is for me to share my story to encour-age even one person to escape their pri- vate hell, then I have found that reason. 

    So I invite you to take a peek into the life of a survivor of domestic violence, it's not pretty, but your eyes may be opened to this silent epidemic and the life you save may be your own.

My Hope

     I wish the material for this book never existed.  I wish there wasn't a single woman out there who, when they read it, could   say, "This is my life."  Unfortunately, there are many, many women, not only in this country, but all over the world, who, when they read this book, will weep, relating to my experiences and seeing them mirrored in their own lives. 

     You see, most abusers aren't original in their abuse. Their goal is control and they use a variation of emotional, physical, sexual and financial abuse to reach that goal. My hope is that by telling my story, and holding out a hand of encouragment, and some pretty sound advice, many, many of the women stuck in abusive situations will gain the strength and will to say they have had enough and break free.

     My name is Erin Donovan and my story is true.