Reflections

For me, the years of heartbreaking parental alienation and domestic abuse are now over. The emotional scars will remain with me forever, though.

In many respects, what happened to me will be familiar. The fact that it all creeps up on you, that you find yourself in a downward spiral towards despair, the isolation, the loneliness, the inability to share, the total lack of support, suspicion on the part of social services teams and feeling of hopelessness and abandonment.

In other respects, what I suffered was aggravated, coupled as it was with my wife’s alcoholism, violence and coercive behaviour. Then there was the devious role of her parents too.

Ultimately, after many years of suffering, I lost everything within the space of a single week – my livelihood, my home and, most importantly, my son.

HOWEVER, my story is also one of hope. 11 years later, I am happily reunited with my son, and we have rebuilt our lives together. One of the key take-aways is that kids aren’t daft! They know when they’ve been used in situations like this.

You may wonder how I started my road to recovery, having hit rock bottom. The answer is that I learned to ditch the isolation and pride so that I could talk and share. In addition, I decided to write - to vent my spleen, to help me heal and, later, to help others in my situation.

My book, 'One in 7?' (One in Seven) is available free to download on Amazon Kindle for anyone who feels as desperate as I did. I invite you to read my story and pray that it brings hope and comfort!

Remember, you are the rock on which the rest of your life is built!

A person reflecting on inspiring quotes in a journal