“I was 46 when I ran away from home, leaving everything,” Simone said.
“Twenty-eight years of marriage, comfortable cars, holiday house. I signed everything over just for peace, even my jewellery. I left everything.
“Now I want other women to have their stories down and feel at peace of mind.”
This month, the Cobram East author is presenting her story at Cobram Library, with an interactive question-and-answer session.
She put pen to paper in earnestness after suffering a nervous breakdown last year following media coverage around the shocking number of women who are killed in domestic violence each week.
“There was so much focus on deaths of women last year, it triggered a nervous breakdown in me,” she said.
“How lucky I was that I survived.
“My fear was, ‘What if I died, and no-one ever knew my side of the story?’
“At least now I have it in print, and I am at peace.”
Simone said the aim of the story was to inspire those experiencing domestic abuse to understand it was never too late for change, and there was hope of living a life that wasn’t bound by abuse.
Her story took more than a year to write and was released on Mother’s Day this year. She aspires to one day have her story produced on screen.
Writing her story became a cathartic experience, but what surprised her was the response from other women experiencing similar situations.
“We are like a sisterhood of survivors. You don't know who’s been in this situation because you don’t talk about it,” Simone said.
“People wouldn’t believe what goes on behind closed doors because it isn’t witnessed.”
“(Writing) took me back to a place of fear. I felt sorry for myself, I live such an opposite life now, and I hurt for myself.
“I didn’t set out to write the book, it simply began as a journal as to what happened ... it was horrific to relive those emotions again.”
Simone will share her journey at Cobram Library this Wednesday, July 30, at 2.30pm.
Bookings are preferred for catering purposes, and can be made by emailing programs@gvlibraries.com.au
To purchase a copy of We Met on a Cruise, visit wemetonacruise.net or visit Cobram Newsagency.
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