Hey listeners, just a quick heads up that today's episode will include some descriptions

of domestic violence, and she just kind of kept saying like he hurt me and he hurt me.

And her daughter seemed okay at the time, kind of normal, just heartbreaking in itself.

You're listening to How To, the show where we help you through some of life's trickiest

situations.

I'm Amanda Ripley.

This week's listener, who we're calling Elaine, has been holding on to a secret that

is tearing her up inside.

So a few months ago, I received a call, I was at home, and I was kind of surprised.

I was from a coworker, and we're friendly, but we haven't hung out too much, so it was

definitely unexpected.

And I picked up the phone, and she was crying, and she was obviously distressed.

And she says she was driving to a hotel.

And that's when I was like, oh, this might be something at home then.

With a million concerns racing through her mind, Elaine jumped in her car to go meet

her coworker, who we're calling Sarah.

And that's how I came to find out that my coworker, Sarah, was being abused.

So I showed up at the hotel where she was, and when I knocked, her child answered the

door.

That was Sarah's middle school-aged daughter, whom we're calling Rachel.

So Sarah came up to me, and she was crying, and she was holding her head, and she said

he had hit her, and it was very swollen on the back, and it was immediately concerned,

...