This book tells the stories of 12 women who were victims of domestic violence and who escaped from their abusers to reclaim their dignity and reconstruct their life. The author traveled throughout the United States to interview women who were once in abusive relationships, who left their abusers, and who went on to reconstruct their lives. At first glance, the women who shared their stories with the author appeared to have little in common. They came from all walks of life; some women were well-educated while others barely finished high school and some came from wealthy families while others came from poor families. Some women witnessed terrifying family violence as children while others never heard an angry word, some women were raised by supportive families while others were raised by distant families, and the women came from many different community settings. The abuse inflicted on the women took different forms--physical, sexual, and/or psychological. The stories of the 12 women focus on the corrosive aspects of abuse that represented a daily threat to the women involved, the humiliation and fear caused by the abuse, and the resources and strength of the women who managed to escape from their abusive situations. The stories indicate the women had much in common; they were all in abusive relationships with men and they were determined to reconstruct their lives.