The Reading Warehouse

At eighteen years old, Patti Caldwell is looking forward to an idyllic future. After a cruel and appalling childhood, she marries her high school sweetheart, Dennis, expecting to finally find true happiness. But that future never materializes. Instead, another cycle of horrendous abuse begins. Over decades Patti experiences escalating verbal and physical abuse by her alcoholic husband. He manipulates her into a position of vulnerability and isolation, attempting to convince her that she is the crazy one. When she finally escapes to a shelter after nearly dying, Dennis turns everyone they know against her. He commits crimes in his efforts to pin her down and persecute her. Her only option is to somehow disappear, become someone else, and never return. This is the true story of the author's life, told with the utmost bravery and honesty. Over the years, Dennis slowly digs a pit under Patti, inch by inch, until she finds herself in the depths of despair. But she never gives up. Once convinced that she was weak, Patti is finally able to find the strength inside of her to escape her disastrous past, clawing her way out onto solid ground.