An article concerning generational curses

Martha shuffled her feet nervously and timidly from her seat in the encircled group of women. Sweat began to drip from her brow line. The feelings that she had been harboring for months, years even, were caught in the heart of her bosom. Words escaped her. There was so much she wanted to convey, but she didn’t know where to start. That, and she was afraid. A knot formed in her throat; she felt like she was suffocating in the palpable tension of the room. It was another woman’s church meeting, but this one was going to be different from all the rest. The other women in the group were talking amongst themselves, making their prayer requests, but Martha didn’t hear any of it. She was too caught up in her thoughts. Then all at once the conversation turned to Martha. It was her turn to talk. A heavy silence filled the room. All eyes were turned to Martha, who felt like she had frozen on the spot.

“I am the victim of psychological and emotional abuse,” Martha began, speaking slowly and deliberately, while at the same time mortified with each word that left her dry lips. “They call it a trauma bond,” she continued, finding some courage and strength with each little bit that she was able to let out. “You see the thing is, I’ve been married to a narcissist for the last twenty-eight years of my life, and I’m only just now seeing the cycle of abuse that I’ve been subjected to,”…