ABSTRACT
There are similarities among most victims of intimate partner violence. They experience repeated coercion, control, threats, and bullying patterns that often alternate with increasingly brief times when their partners make them feel loved and supported. Kate Ranta’s story illustrates the capacity of a dangerously pathological predator who is driven by control and rage. Clai Lasher-Sommers lived with pervasive abuse as a child in her family of origin, ultimately being shot by her stepfather when she was an adolescent. Narratives in this chapter focus on using lived traumatic experiences and how they are used for social change.
