Do you ever feel like no one is listening or paying any attention to you? Joy A. Allen often felt alone and forgotten in her marriage to husband Ed. The two met while Joy was still in high school, and they decided to get married soon after, despite reservations expressed by Joy's parents. The young couple then chose to move in with Ed s family, effectively isolating Joy from her mother and father. While Ed worked, Joy's task was to keep the home for her demanding husband and ungrateful in-laws. In turn, Ed made all the family's day-to-day decisions and spent all the family's money on drinking, partying, and useless purchases, even when Joy was pregnant or sick. As time progressed, Ed got even less attentive, engaging in affairs and further neglecting the needs of Joy and their children.In Nineteen Years of Living Hell, Joy A. Allen tells of her abusive marriage and family situation. Joy shares her story to help her children understand what her life was like with their father and to encourage any woman who is the victim of domestic abuse to fight back.
