I am, sadly, not a stranger to aggression. I experienced physical and verbal bullying in school and at home. The latter continued well into adult life. While I always tried to stand up for myself, it never seemed to achieve anything, and I never stopped feeling afraid. Somehow this got twisted in my mind and I believed I was a coward.
In November 2014 I finally cut contact with a close family member, I was free from the last of the bullies. I knew this was my chance to become the person others had tried to grind out of me for all these years. But I did not fully know how to do that. I wanted to be strong, but I felt weak – the fallout from such a hugely emotional decision was draining.
The Finishing School 