National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

I wanted to take today to acknowledge that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

You may recall that, in June, I participated with 11 other authors in the benefits anthology, The Power of Love. If you have a moment, I hope you'll take a look at the anthology. Details are on my Web site. All of the authors and our agents are donating all of our proceeds from that anthology to a battered women's shelter. With the way proceeds from book sales are paid, you could say the anthology is a gift that will keep on giving to the shelter.

But that's not what I wanted to talk about with you today, sister to sister.

Domestic violence statistics are tragically familiar. Annually, 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by their partner. One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. And 50 percent of men who frequently assault their wives also abuse their children.

If you or someone you know is in trouble, please remember help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has a 24/7 toll-free number, 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

Patricia