From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam. This is My Unsung Hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

My unsung hero is a boy named Spencer. He was my best friend.

Every Sunday, Julie would drop off soup at our house.

I look forward to it every one.

I would say thank you for giving me one of the best gifts of my life.

Today's story comes from Rebecca Stoolmiller.

In 1982, Rebecca was 19 years old and felt like her life was falling apart.

Her parents had just divorced.

Her boyfriend of three years had stopped calling and she had dropped out of college.

So she packed up and moved from Billings, Montana, to Phoenix, Arizona, hoping to start over.

I randomly found a job as receptionist when I moved and met this cute guy at work.

We started dating.

I felt like I was having a new start in life.

But after a while, I realized things weren't going as well as I thought. He constantly belittled me, mocked me, and blamed me for everything.

He could also be very sweet sometimes, buying me perfume,

and trying to teach me how to choose wine.

And so I kept hanging in there, thinking that deep down this man was really a good person.

I just needed to give it more time.

But after a while I realized it was just not going in that direction.

And one day I was at my breaking point.

I got in my car and drove. I don't even know where I drove. I think I just

wanted to get out of the house. And I was sitting at a stoplight. And I was sobbing into my hands.

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