Whitney and Bobby-A Teachable Moment

One of the world's most celebrated voices was nearly lost to what she says was an addiction to her husband. Veterans of domestic abuse recognize the syndrome: a woman abused to the point that she is unable to defend herself or get away.
By: Anna Moss
 
Sept. 15, 2009 - PRLog -- As Whitney Houston spoke to Oprah Winfrey on a private soundstage, millions watched the long-awaited interview. A clear-eyed Houston, "the voice", described years of escalating drug use and domestic abuse. Viewers like me were stunned that a woman of such accomplishment risked her gift to drugs and allowed herself to be reduced to a nervous wreck by her husband, Bobby Brown.

This happens every day to women of greater and lesser accomplishment. On any given day, one woman in 10 is contending with what Whitney Houston contended with:

•   Their child saw her dad spit on her mom and throw her against a wall
•   Their child saw her mom hit back in self defense
•   She gave up her work to be a full-time wife, to her later detriment
•   She endured incomprehensible emotional and verbal assaults
•   She walked on eggshells to avoid assault

“Whitney Houston’s voice is a national treasure and she is to be commended for telling her truth. She is fortunate to have family, wealth and faith to lean upon as she comes back from domestic abuse. Few are so fortunate. The legions of emotionally and financially battered women out there are a national tragedy. Women have got to learn how to recognize the warning signs to wake us all up from this nightmare,” says author Anna Moss.

Moss created a revolutionary mind map describing the hard-to-see and harder-to-believe truths and consequences of abusive entanglements. RELATIONSHIP RED FLAGS—37 Life Lessons from a Journey through Abuse takes the reader deep into the warning signs and the secret agenda they eventually reveal. Readers learn how:

•   Perpetrators are made, not born
•   Targets of abuse set themselves up for the taking
•   Perpetrators look for a target with particular attributes
•   Targets’ best qualities are used against them
•   Perpetrators mask their intent with deceit and deliberation

Written for the uninitiated, Moss’ guide cuts through misinformation and stereotypes to make a teachable moment out of a personal tragedy. It offers insights and encouragement as only a survivor could.

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Relationship Red Flags provides a mind map of the warning signs of abusive individuals and relationships as only a survivor could create. 37 red flags decoded for the uninitiated. Forewarned is forearmed.
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