When two women wrote about how they had been "gaslighted" - made to question their sanity by an abusive partner - many readers, male and female, got in touch to share similar experiences. Here, three of them explain how they were left feeling utterly isolated. "I actually thought there was something wrong with my memory" I moved from southern England to a small Scottish village to be with the love of my life, a handsome and charming man who made me feel more alive and special than I ever thought possible. Just before I moved, a friend said he thought my boyfriend wouldn't be happy until he had me living in the middle of nowhere, far away from anyone and all to himself. At the time I laughed it off but it turned out it couldn't have been more true. At first he was completely attentive. He worked away as a lorry driver but he called every morning, throughout the day and last thing at night. I thought this was really nice of him but I started to notice...
In 1977 Maryann Gray was a 22-year-old college graduate with her whole life ahead of her, when a little boy darted out in front of her car. For years, Maryann didn't talk about Brian, but she thought about him constantly - and his death has had a lasting influence on her life. I was in a terrific mood that day. I was moving from the little college town of Oxford in rural Ohio into a big old rambling house in Cincinnati with a bunch of other people. I was so excited. I'd been in graduate school but I'd decided I was going to leave. I was happy not knowing what was coming next. I was going to get a job, have fun, see where my passions led me. I was at the house - we called it an urban commune - painting the room I was moving into. When I finished I thought I'd drive back to my apartment in Oxford which was all packed up and ready for the move - it was a warm day in June and I thought it would be great to take a swim. The road started out as freeway but quickly be...
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