“This is the first time in my life I haven’t been controlled by somebody” Sarah Sutton says. “It’s like I’ve been in a cult, and I’m finally free.”

Five years ago, in a first desperate step, Sarah began researching the words “narcissist” and “sociopath.” She was shocked to discover that her husband checked every single box. She thought back to a previous marriage, as a young woman with another abusive man who checked the same boxes. She remembered the crushing shame and guilt of leaving him, piled on by her church which viewed divorce as sinful. Now she didn’t know if she could face again the shame of leaving—but she had to consider her son Evran.

The decision left Sarah and Evran homeless. To survive even short term, she incurred a large credit card debt. In crisis, she found Joshua Station.

“I was ready to soar. But I was like a baby bird,” Sarah says. “I had no wind beneath my wings at all.” Read more here.