Leaving the women’s shelter was the hardest, bravest, and most terrifying step I had ever taken. Even in the shelter you think people expect the same thing your abuser did. You fear every person is like your abuser even in public, it can take along time to get past that. When I left it was the moment I claimed safety for myself and my children. But freedom didn’t erase the past; it just opened a new, overwhelming question: How do I parent now?