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Summary: Readers write comments
Review: I am grateful I have received hundreds of letters through the regular mail about the book. I want to share a few comments with you: "Although I was not an abused wife, I was intrigued by your story. I read your story and embarked on a journey of emotional turmoil I had long ago laid to rest. Thank you for allowing me to go on." ** "I feel your story is unusual in the sense that you refused to present yourself as a victim in the most weak sense of the word. Because you presented yourself as a strong woman from the beginning of the book is why I continued reading. I sincerely hope your message reaches those it was meant to, and that it helps women in abusive relationships." ** "'I Closed My Eyes' will let light into dark places." ** "It is vital that these personal stories are told and I deeply admire you and your power to tell the truth." ** "It's honest and real. It moved me to tears. I needed to keep reading. When the book came to an end, I wanted to applaud you. Thank you for making the last 24 hours of my life meaningful, insightful , purposeful and a reason to love my family and appreciate the good things in my life that I often take for granted." ** Please continue with your comments. They are inspirational. Many thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: Author went through hell
Review: I am not an abused wife or battered woman, but I can still appreciate what the author went through. She gives the reader a mostly detailed journey through her personal hell. Having said that I find it puzzling that she would choose to go to a costume party as Nicole Brown and OJ Simpson, complete with ketchup on her neck. It was in terrible taste and the author tries to explain it by saying "the reality behind the charade was too important for me to abandon". Then she goes to tell that others at the party thought it was in bad taste and her italicized comments are "that they missed the point." Not surprisingly they did, didn't they. Apparently, she thought they would immediately realize she was abused? She also admits her two youngest children were quite disturbed seeing her dressed like that and she told them it was a game and left it to the babysitter to explain. I, for one, don't look for hidden meanings in Halloween costumes and since Ms. Weldon stressed her love and devotion to her children and how she didn't want them affected by the abuse, I find her attitude about the costumes and her children very strange to say the least.
When she finally exposed her husband and divorce proceedings began, she lamented that hers would be the only children at the Xmas plays and school events without a father. What planet is she from? Does she not know the divorce statistics? I found some of these comments rather whiney and self serving.
She complains in the book of the duties of a single parent, oops, sorry, Double Parent. Ms. Weldon wants to make sure we understand her trials and tribulations. I understand that more falls on the shoulder of the custodial parent, but she certainly isn't the only Double Parent either. She has many family members and friends close by and her family stepped in to help her financially.
I understand that it is difficult for women to leave an abusive relationship and she writes that she is glad she stayed 9 years. Once again, I am puzzled that as devoted a mother as she is, she finds it okay to have put her three children at risk in this situation.
I'm sure I am going to be chastised for my criticims of Ms Weldon's book and I certainly don't mean to trivialize what she and other women have gone through. These are simply my observations.
Rating: 
Summary: A journey through hell - and out
Review: I can imagine Michele Weldon resolving to write this book. Her determination to tell the simple truth from the very beginning is obvious and unflinching. The resulting book is a legacy to her sons, who lived with her through horrific abuse, and a light in the storm for women trying to get through situations much like hers. The writing is engaging, the style clear and simple. Instead of telling her story largely in hindsight, she takes the reader by the hand and tells how she came to be married to a monster who was disguised as a Nice Guy, how she freed herself and her children, and lastly how she made a determined effort to recover from a dozen years of torture and make a new life for herself.
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Summary: Grateful for your encouragement
Review: I continue to be gratified by the comments from such thoughtful, sensitive, intelligent readers as all of you are. Writing this book helped to free me. Your comments and insights are taken to heart and I am astounded by the grace of the gifts I have received since writing this book. I am extremely grateful for the compassionate support. And I hope for all of you a life without fear. I also hope that if you know any woman in this situation, please help her unconditionally. Believe her. Listen to her. Offer her shelter. It is nearly impossible to do it alone. Help save another woman's life. And please save your own.
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Summary: A book for every person!
Review: I first read Michele's short story essay on this topic in 1997 and was immediately drawn into her life. As a published author, I knew this book was an important one. I was honored by the opportunity to assist her in getting it published. Michele writes from the heart and this book will touch your soul! When I first received the manuscript last year over the 4th of July, I spent the whole weekend reading instead of celebrating. I was so moved by her words, that I cried and laughed and got angry. I felt her pain. Even though I have not been physically abused, I have felt emotionally abused in my life. This book helps one heal these emotions! Finally, I've seen Michele go on to create a new life, one filled with hope, love and happiness...so be prepared to be inspired and enter into a person's life, who will change yours!
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Summary: An enlightening journey from the dark side
Review: I was in a search for a different book when I saw this one in my favorite bookstore. I wasn't going to pick it up ~~ but when I started reading the first paragraph, I couldn't put it down. Weldon's writing is gripping, brutally honest and so true ~~ and it hit home so close to the dark secrets in your heart. I wasn't in an abusive relationship/marriage for very long but reading this book helps reaffirm my decision to leave my husband ~~ she writes of how bad things were before she finally decided to leave. I left before it got worse and before there were innocent children involved. And after reading this book, I am glad that I left as soon as I did. It is encouraging to read about one woman's trials, fears as it helped me realize that I am not the only one. I too came from a loving stable family ~~ my relationship with my dad mirrors Weldon's. We both love our fathers deeply and they are good men. We both searched for men like our fathers and in the process, got hurt. Weldon's reasons for staying in the marriage mirrors mine. We didn't stay because of low self-esteem, but because we believed in our husbands and encouraged them to be the men we thought we knew they could be. We stayed till there were no reasons left to stay. We can still say to this day that we did everything we could to make our marriages work. We are not failures even though we may feel like that. As for me, seeing the struggles she had with her three sons hit home. I wanted to have children, but something deep inside me told me to wait. I am so glad that I listened to this inner voice because I cannot imagine how much harder it would be for me to leave if I had children with my husband. Reading about Weldon's struggles reaffirmed my decisions to wait. I find myself saying about her husband ~~ what a jerk! If you or anyone you know is in an abusive relationship, I urge you to pick up this book. Though in the midsts of struggles, where you feel the deepest and darkest despairs and fears, there is a glimmer of hope that life will get better. It does ~~ even if it means changing your whole life to escape from the batterer. But once you're outside and "free" you will begin to heal though the scars will always be there. Picking up this book is such a uplifter for me ~~ knowing that I am not the only one who struggled with domestic violence. I also know that I am not alone in my fears and despair. I, who is a professional worker and from a good family, am not the failure. He is. He can change himself but I can't. When I left him, I did feel a sense of relief. There's no more worrying and fears of what he might do next. It's a hard long road leaving someone you love, but when one comes to the realization that he will never change, there's a freedom in knowing that you still have your life left. And thanks to Weldon, I now know that I am not alone in this struggle.
Rating:
Summary: Author went through hell
Review: Michele Weldon does a magnificent job describing her harrowing journey through domestic violence, and she does so with clarity and unflinching honesty. Domestic violence crosses all socio-economic and cultural boundaries. Just as no two women are alike, no two violent marriages are identical; Ms. Weldon explains her own experience in such a way that anyone living through this hell will see some element of her own situation. The cyclical nature of abuse, the cliche questions ("What did you do to make him mad?" "Why did you stay so long," etc.), the cliche assumptions (she suffers from low self-esteem, HE suffers from low self-esteem, etc.)are all carefully addressed. By telling her story, Ms. Weldon has undoubtedly opened a door--even if it is just a crack!--for someone who really needs to know that there is hope for starting over. Michele did it...I did it...YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
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Summary: The real deal
Review: Michele Weldon does a magnificent job describing her harrowing journey through domestic violence, and she does so with clarity and unflinching honesty. Domestic violence crosses all socio-economic and cultural boundaries. Just as no two women are alike, no two violent marriages are identical; Ms. Weldon explains her own experience in such a way that anyone living through this hell will see some element of her own situation. The cyclical nature of abuse, the cliche questions ("What did you do to make him mad?" "Why did you stay so long," etc.), the cliche assumptions (she suffers from low self-esteem, HE suffers from low self-esteem, etc.)are all carefully addressed. By telling her story, Ms. Weldon has undoubtedly opened a door--even if it is just a crack!--for someone who really needs to know that there is hope for starting over. Michele did it...I did it...YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
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Summary: A Must Read For All Women
Review: Michele Weldon does an amazing job of grabbing the reader with her story. It takes an incredible amount of courage to tell the world that your picture perfect life and marriage was a charade -- that you were abused for years by a man who appeared to be "the loving husband." What really touched me most was the ability I felt to relate to the author, as the life she describes is not too far from my own real-life experience. Warning for those of you are presently in an abusive relationship or recently leaving one -- this is so well-written and hits so close to home that it may trigger flashbacks. Nevertheless, it is a must-read for not just victims of domestic violence, but for all women.
Rating:
Summary: Great for a woman who has left an abusive marriage
Review: Michele Weldon is an incredible writer. Each word, sentence, and thought was so rich and clear that I could see the picture, and know the depths of her inner experience. Throughout the book she composes the story of her life in such an interesting way that I was often left awestruck. Anyone could benefit from this book, whether or not they have survived abuse. She demonstrates how her life was changed in the aftermath of domestic violence and divorce.
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