May 25, 2011 9:48 AM
Nicole Behrens waves to a passerby in front of her North Sea home--her safe space from the ravages of domestic violence she faced in her past. COLLEEN REYNOLDS PHOTOS
Nicole Behrens knows what it’s like to be thrown out of a moving car.
She also knows the heart-pumping panic induced by facing a livid husband armed with a shotgun, seething with pent-up rage and unknown intentions.
She is all too familiar with the depths of domestic violence: the bullying, the pushing, the pulling, the dragging, the choking, the drug- and alcohol-fueled rages, the mercurial moods of the abuser, and the resulting feelings of guilt and inadequacy.
But she also knows there is a way out.
And today, the 42-year-old North Sea mother devotes much of her energy toward empowering others in similar positions.
“It’s so crucial for me, for women, to know that they don’t have to live this way, that there is a better life,” Ms. Behrens explained in a recent interview on... more
She also knows the heart-pumping panic induced by facing a livid husband armed with a shotgun, seething with pent-up rage and unknown intentions.
She is all too familiar with the depths of domestic violence: the bullying, the pushing, the pulling, the dragging, the choking, the drug- and alcohol-fueled rages, the mercurial moods of the abuser, and the resulting feelings of guilt and inadequacy.
But she also knows there is a way out.
And today, the 42-year-old North Sea mother devotes much of her energy toward empowering others in similar positions.
“It’s so crucial for me, for women, to know that they don’t have to live this way, that there is a better life,” Ms. Behrens explained in a recent interview on... more
