Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds

I recommend this beautifully-written and eye-opening book by Michelle Horton!

Wow! Non fiction Nikki Addimondo is incarcerated for killing her abuser - Chris, her partner and father to their 2 kids aged 2 & 4. Michelle Horton is left to raise her kids and her own son while battling a court system, seemingly designed to punish the entire family. Chris has beat her, sold her to make pornography, burned her, and raped her sadistically. Her babies drew pictures of Mommy with duct tape over her mouth and around her hands as punishment for misbehaving. Her mdwife treated her wounds so severe her rectum was prolapsed. Many people in the community had seen the bruises and black eyes. Hundreds of thousand dollars were donated to help with court costs. Nikki's mistake being - she had people she cod report the abuse too and file charges against Chris. Court system doesn't tae not consideration all the reasons women don't report abuse. If it wasn't for the bond b/t these 2 sisters and a community that supported them Nikki would have spent 20 years behind bars instead of the 9 she did receive- 3 of those years were when preparation for a jury trial to take place and having to move the hearings to 2 towns over. This was truly an eye opener to a justice system that still portrays abused women as exaggerating or falsifying situations.