5Leaving Dorian is a story about finding hope and embracing the unknown, as recounted by domestic violence survivor Linda Dynel. This fast paced, riveting memoir takes the reader with Ms. Dynel on every step of her journey; from hurriedly throwing her children's clothes into garbage bags and gathering the weapons that her husband had stockpiled to protect his family during the Apocalypse that he was sure was coming with the New Millennium, to moving back in with her equally as imbalanced mother, which at the time she believed to be her only reasonable means of escape."My purpose in writing Leaving Dorian was primarily to educate. The questions that were asked of me when I finally escaped are the very same questions that are asked over and over again by loved ones, lawyers and co-workers of victims. "If it was so bad, why didn't you call the police? Why did you keep having children with him? How could you just let him push you around/yell at you/hit you like that? Why didn't you fight back? How could you let your children live like that? Why didn't you leave sooner?" My hope is that by bringing the reader into my violent marriage, as well as allowing the reader to examine my upbringing and the way in which I ended up meeting and eventually marrying "Dorian", I can help the reader to understand not only how abuse starts but also how it is successfully carried out against the victim. Domestic violence is perhaps the most misunderstood of all crimes that law enforcement and social service agencies deal with on a daily basis, as it's not about poor anger management skills, substance abuse or economic stressors. Domestic violence is about one person's belief that they are entitled to have complete control over another human being. It is my sincerest hope that Leaving Dorian will enable those in the mental health and counseling professions, as well as loved ones of victims, to gain an entirely new and fresh perspective on what a victim of domestic violence really grapples with every day. It is only through education and understanding that we will ever, as a society, put an end to the erroneous thought processes that allow domestic violence to continue to flourish."