Introduction

Federal cuts to funding and new rules for obtaining grants are threatening critical programs proven to prevent and reduce domestic violence. This means that programs that assist survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other acts of violence are struggling to help victims and survivors’ maintain their safety and ability to move forward.

What if a book could change that?

Storytelling is one of humanity’s oldest healing tools. At the I Know Why She Stayed initiative, we are using the power of narrative storytelling to break the silence surrounding financial abuse. Survivors often struggle to articulate their trauma—but in literature, they find language, validation, and a sense of community. They find others who understand what they’ve been through.

Until recently, the term “financial abuse” was largely unknown despite the fact that 99% of victims of domestic abuse state financial barriers are the number one reason they could not leave. Yet it is still the least understood form of domestic abuse.

Using our foundational memoir, I Know Why She Stayed, we’re building Beyond Survival: The 4-Pillar Program to Rise & Rebuild, a trauma-informed program forged from our lived experience.

The Beyond Survival: The 4-Pillar Program to Rise & Rebuild program helps victims understand their trauma by validating their experiences, prioritizing safety and self-care, and healing through writing to rebuild financial independence. It also contains a wealth of resources beyond domestic shelters, to help women rebuild their lives after trauma. We aim to empower survivors to reclaim their lives, their voices, and their freedom. Our approach helps survivors not only understand what happened to them—but start to rise and rebuild.

Why This Matters:

With 99% of domestic violence victims stating they experience financial abuse, it isn’t just a statistic—it’s a silent epidemic. Financial abuse traps survivors in dangerous environments, deprives them of independence, and strips away their ability to leave. And yet, because their scars are emotional, it's invisible.

As survivors ourselves, we know how it feels because we've lived it. That’s why we’re creating tools we wish we had—tools that are accessible, safe, and rooted in real healing.

This is where we need your help to bring this transformative program to more people—especially those still suffering in silence.

We’re seeking your support to fund the next phase of our mission: building and distributing our groundbreaking Beyond Survival: The 4-Pillar Program to Rise & Rebuild. This will be offered in print, digitally and via discreet devices for maximum safety. It can be integrated with community programs, ERs, College and University health departments, therapist offices, doctor’s offices, and most importantly, libraries.

What Your Support Will Fund

We’re raising funds to:

Finalize content development and production of our Beyond Survival: The 4-Pillar Program to Rise & Rebuild.

Produce discreet, untraceable devices preloaded with our program for survivors in dangerous situations.

Translate the program into multiple languages to reach global communities.

Expand our outreach and build an online community of survivors to help reduce the isolation many experience when abused.

Provide our program to libraries, community programs, ERs, College and University health departments, therapist offices, and doctor’s offices.

Beyond Survival: The 4-Pillar Program to Rise & Rebuild

The Case Files

The memoir I Know Why She Stayed encourages readers to examine their own lives and helps victims process their own experiences to gain a deeper understanding of how someone becomes trapped in the cycle of abuse. The companion Reader’s Guide provides an extensive breakdown of the behaviors that abusers exhibit to control the lives of their victims.

Roadmap to Recovery

Recovering from the trauma of abuse requires crucial self-care to fortify both physical and mental well-being. Self-care helps to build self-esteem, manage stress, and become more emotionally resilient, enabling survivors to begin a new, healthier approach to rebuilding their lives.

Writing to Heal

Writing therapy is a powerful therapeutic tool for healing the damage caused by the trauma of domestic abuse. The emotional release of writing provides a safe and private outlet for expressing and processing difficult emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Survivors are encouraged to observe, reflect, and connect to gain a deeper understanding of their patterns, triggers, and underlying trauma to begin the healing process.

The Survivor's Guidebook

Leaving an abusive relationship is the most dangerous time for a survivor, who must cope with detaching emotionally from the fear, isolation, and financial dependency. Survivors will find resources to help them navigate the complicated decision to leave and never return to an abusive relationship.

Support Our Project

When you support the I Know Why She Stayed Initiative, you're helping a victim change how their story ends. They’ll be able to break free and begin healing, and turn the page to start a new chapter of their life.

Stand with survivors. #iknowwhyshestayed