I thought it was normal to live like that.

I had to be careful, but I wasn’t, and that made me an easy target sometimes. It was all limited.Īt church if I answered all the questions correctly, my Sunday School teachers enjoyed me. As I got older, there were more rules involving my time with friends and activities outside the home. In school I didn’t wear the right tennis shoes (first Adidas – and then Nikes) or Jeans (Girbaud anyone?) I wore large, thick rimmed glasses and preached the coming of Jesus Christ because I was terrified that all the people in my class were going straight to hell.Īt home there were untold numbers of rules and regulations so as not to mess up our beautiful, clean home. If I made the wrong move, I would be pointed out and identified as an outlier. Learning How to Use Your Voice in an Emotionally Abusive RelationshipĪs a child I had to be careful. Through her music, Sara Bareilles held my hand and walked me all the way through. This is the first of a series of articles where I hope to tell my own story of getting away from emotional and spiritual abuse using Sara’s songs as my backdrop ( check out the Spotify playlist for women healing from abuse).

Brave sara bareilles live