“Maybe now you’ll learn your place,” my mother-in-law sneered after my husband attacked me while I held our sick baby post-surgery. Weak and trembling, I locked us in the room and dialed one number. Minutes later, heavy boots kicked down the front door, and my husband’s face went pale as my father walked in wearing his general’s uniform and said…

had reached a verdict. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird as we filed back into the courtroom, holding my breath as the foreperson stood up with the slip of paper.

Chapter VI: The Architecture of Liberation

“On the charge of Felony Aggravated Assault, we find the defendant… Guilty.”

The word hit the air like a thunderclap.

“On the charge continue reading …