Teri

he describes domestic violence, being drugged and raped, and sexual assaults involving other men that were filmed and streamed. Coercion and financial abuse were also part of what she experienced.

She developed an addiction while trying to cope and went through episodes of psychosis. Her partner and others used those episodes to tell her the abuse had been imagined. Her fear of losing her mind made it harder to trust her own experience.

She survived suicide attempts and continued fighting for her life. She wants to be understood as a survivor, with the harm she experienced taken seriously rather than explained away through her mental health.

She has built a career and an independent life. Her dogs and her determination to challenge violence against women are important to her. Hope remains part of how she keeps going: “Just as sure as the sun will rise, the darkness will end.”