Girl on the Brink: Recognizing Signs of an Abusive Relationship
by Christina Hoag
Girl on the
Brink: Recognizing Signs of an Abusive Relationship
My new YA
novel Girl on the Brink relates the story of an abusive
relationship. Abusers tend to follow a set pattern of behaviors, and when
you’re familiar with what they are, they’re recognizable. When you’re not
familiar with these red flags, you can misread them or dismiss them too easily.
In my novel, the main character Chloe experiences all the following behaviors in
her relationship with Kieran. In honor of October being National Domestic
Violence Awareness Month, here they are:
10
Key
Signs You Are Dating an Abuser
1. Rushed relationship. He presses for an exclusive commitment almost
immediately. He claims to have never loved anyone like this before.
2. Jealousy. He’s jealous of any guy you even speak to and says his
jealousy shows how much he loves you. He’s possessive, calling constantly,
dropping in out of the blue, and gives you little room to yourself.
3. Controlling. He checks up on you, interrogates you about where you
went and who you were with, monitors your email and phone. He wants you to ask
him permission to do anything.
4. Unrealistic
expectations. He puts you on a
pedestal, expecting you to be perfect and fulfill his every need, and will tear
you off the pedestal when you aren’t perfect.
5. Isolation. He tries to cut you off from family and friends.
6. Blaming. He faults others for his own mistakes and makes
others responsible for his feelings: “You make me mad,” not “I'm mad.”
7. Hypersensitive. He’s thin-skinned, taking minor slights as major insults
and blowing them up into more than they’re worth.
8. Verbal abuse. He criticizes you, calls you names, embarrasses you, uses
your vulnerabilities against you.
9. Mood swings. He goes from normal to raging almost instantly.
10. Minimizes. He minimizes
the harm he’s done to you: “You’re making a big deal out of that?” He promises
to never do it again or get help. He goes on a charm offensive with gifts after
an abusive incident.
AUTHOR BIO:
Christina Hoag is the author of Skin of Tattoos, a literary thriller set in L.A.’s gang underworld
(Martin Brown Publishers, August 2016) and Girl
on the Brink, a romantic thriller for young adults (Fire and Ice YA/Melange Books, August 2016). She is a former
reporter for the Associated Press and Miami Herald and worked as a
correspondent in Latin America writing for major media outlets including Time,
Business Week, Financial Times, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times.
She is the co-author of Peace in the
Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence, a groundbreaking book
on gang intervention (Turner Publishing, 2014). She lives in Los Angeles. For
more information, see www.christinahoag.com.
AUTHOR SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://facebook.com/ChristinaHoagAuthor
GIRL ON THE BRINK BLURB:
The
summer before senior year, Chloe starts an internship as a reporter at a local
newspaper. While on assignment, she meets Kieran, a quirky aspiring actor.
Chloe becomes smitten with Kieran’s charisma and his ability to soothe her
soul, torn over her parents’ impending divorce. But as their bond deepens,
Kieran becomes smothering and flies into terrifying rages. He confides in Chloe
that he suffered a traumatic childhood, and Chloe is moved to help him. If only
he could be healed, she thinks, their relationship would be perfect. But her
efforts backfire, and Kieran turns violent. Chloe breaks up with him, but
Kieran pursues her relentlessly to make up. Chloe must make the heartrending
choice between saving herself or saving Kieran, until Kieran’s mission of
remorse turns into a quest for revenge. Available from Fire & Ice, the YA
imprint of Melange Books in ebook and paperback.
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2aRFsVZ
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2b8rgGA
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2bFrCGQ
Comments
Thanks for the eyeopener.
Jackie