Welcome to Narcissist Apocalypse, everyone. I am Brandon Chadwick and today we will be doing a

debrief follow-up to the re-release of Erica's story. And for those of you who have not heard

Erica's story yet, she was raised in a really strict religious environment where

women were taught to submit, to serve, and to see their worth through becoming wives and

mothers. And when she spoke up as a young adult, she was cut off from her family and community

and became homeless. Her first long-term relationship, Erica, tried really hard

to build a family and keep it together even while carrying most of the responsibility. She worked,

she parented, she managed the home, and ignored a lot of painful behavior because she wanted

stability, belonging, and family. There was alcohol use, drug use,

sexual pressure, financial irresponsibility, and a real lack of real partnership going on. But the main

part of Erica's story was the second relationship, which we focused on. And at first, the abuser

seemed to offer what Erica had been missing.

He appeared stable, he appeared capable, financially responsible, and involved with kids. But very

quickly, this relationship became about controlling her, and it became very, very dangerous.

And Erica describes sexual coercion, intimidation, weapons, stalking, isolation, financial

abuse.

There was surveillance going on and then control through children, pets, money, the home,

and then the legal system.

And over time, she kept functioning, parenting, and just trying to get

through every single day. She was just surviving. And a major turning point came when she tried to

get legal help. She went to an attorney's office, but her husband had already contacted that

office, which meant that they could not represent

...