She had lost her comfortable life, her marriage, and much of her social standing in the community.
My parents, embarrassed by the public nature of the protective order and the family fallout, became more isolated, rarely attending family gatherings and quietly withdrawing from their social circles. They had lost the picture-perfect family image they had worked so hard to maintain, and the weight of their own enabling had finally caught up with them.
As for me, I stood on my deck one cool October morning, coffee in hand, watching the aspens turn gold against the mountainside. I had fought for this peace, this space, this life that was entirely my own.
And though the journey had cost me relationships I once thought were essential, it had given me something far more valuable.