From Bliss to This: A Woman's Incredible Journey through a Cultural Marriage

In my wildest dreams, I never expected to find or marry the perfect man. Still, as an American woman who met and married a younger Muslim man, I was ecstatic when I learned I would also travel the world and be immersed in his culture and family life. We shared the most enjoyable adventures I could have imagined. With my husband by my side, I lived in bliss, with love and joy, for twelve years.

How suddenly, my new life disintegrated.

Our perfect marriage shifted and became my trap. Divorce did not involve separation; that would come twelve intense and painful years later. Fear for my life and well-being compelled me to continue living with him and cooperate through cruelty, heartbreak, emotional torment, and violent threats of physical harm. I endured my new reality at home with his new wife and, later, two children.

I learned to cope with more grief and emotional suffering than most women could handle in a lifetime. Our relationship went beyond the believable, but it happened exactly as he'd planned. While his anger and violent personality reigned, I patiently waited for the best time and the one thing that could either kill me or set me free from his deception and power over me.

Find out more and connect with the author at www.laurainabashir.com.

by Lauraina Bashir

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