Alexandra Blockton
ablockton@lc.edu

Marriage is depressing when your husband keeps you away from your family and loved ones. Being beaten on numerous occasions and being a victim of emotional, verbal, and physical abuse can cause long term damage throughout a woman’s life. 

Gina and Phillip seem to be the couple every other couple dreamed of becoming. They have two adorable children together whom they both love dearly. Gina is very wealthy from her career as a Writer and Phillip is a factory worker. He is still able to enjoy the wealthy lifestyle of having a BMW, a nice home and not a financial worry in the world. Gina has one sister named Sydney and a brother named Rick. 

A primary story point is that Gina was kept away from her family due to the physical abuse she suffered from. You should know that her husband was her abuser. She was terrified of him and always did as he demanded. Otherwise she would suffer from black eyes and bruises all over her body. 

Phillip was very jealous of Gina’s career as a Writer. He felt as if all of her co-workers were upidy and better than him. Occasionally,  Gina would take him to company dinners, which was never a great idea, because when they arrived back home he would physically abuse her.

Being a survivor of domestic violence myself, I have somewhat experienced the abuse Gina experienced. But you have to be strong enough to say to yourself, “enough is enough” and move on with your life. One thing I dislike about this book is that Gina had plenty of times in the beginning of the abuse to get away and ask for help. I mean, she was financially stable and had no need to be dependent on Philip. Even though Phillip would abuse her in front of their children, she never wanted to call law enforcement. Until one day he beat her so badly, blood cover her whole face. Thankfully, my child did not have to experience witnessing the abuse I suffered from while it was occurring. 

Gina loved her brother Rick and sister Sydney as well as her mother Delores, who was hospitalized due to a stroke. Sydney and Rick really needed their sister by their side. But of course, Phillip did not allow her to even spend time with her mother and family at the hospital. It was a very hard time for Gina because as bad as she wanted to stay with her mother, she also insisted on obeying Phillip’s abusive orders. 

Sydney had a feeling something wasn’t quite right with her sister. She had thought plenty of times that Phillip was abusing her sister. But she just couldn’t quite prove it because Gina would always make up excuses when she was asked questions.

Certainly, it’s very challenging being a victim of domestic violence. I remember when I used to think everyone was against me as well as feeling I couldn’t trust anyone. This was mainly due to listening to all the harsh words coming from my abuser’s mouth.

Eventually, Gina put a restraining order on Phillip. Of course, he didn’t take it seriously. In fact, I remember I had to get one against my ex and he didn’t take it seriously either, but I constantly called law enforcement. Until, one day, I up and left with no looking back.

Sometimes, Phillip would call Gina and play mind games on the phone with her, pretending as if he was going to kidnap their two children and take them away. If I were her, I would have called law enforcement right then and there. Unfortunately, Gina did not call them. 

One day, Phillip just couldn’t take the fact of being away from Gina and their children. He called, questioning her in the midst of stalking her. But Gina provoked him really badly by telling him she had another man in the house with her. I would have never said that to my ex boyfriend. 

Eventually, Phillip became so outrageously mad he began to kick down Gina’s front door to her home, the place of residence where it was court ordered he was not allowed to come. He kicked the door down and went straight to the kitchen for a knife, with the intent of stabbing her. Gina went for a kitchen drawer where she had been keeping a handgun for her protection. She began to shoot one shot after another, until she had fired four shots and he was dead. 

Personally, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to kill my ex boyfriend. But, if I had been pushed to the point of being in a life or death situation, I wouldn’t have had a choice but to act quickly in self defense to save my life.

After all the trauma Gina went through from being abused, two years later her mother passed away from the tumor that had grown in her head. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me of how my life used to be in so many different ways, and how I overcame everything to become the strong woman I am today by leaving it all behind me. Throughout the book it gave numerous examples of how families are never perfect. Everyone has their ups and downs with their sisters and brothers, but at the end of the day they are still there for one another, no matter what the issue may tend to be!