Be A Man

He was told to be a man.

Curtis Welsh thought that meant being responsible, sacrificing for his family, protecting the people he loved, and never admitting when something was breaking him.

At twenty-three, he gives up the military future he had worked toward to become the primary caregiver for his children. His wife builds a career. He builds a home. Slowly, almost invisibly, he loses access to money, decisions, friendships, work, identity, and finally his own sense of reality.

When Curtis tries to leave, the system sees an unemployed father instead of the man who raised his children. The court gives him limited custody. The people around him tell him to toughen up. The culture around him gives him almost no language for what has happened.

Then Curtis finds a support group, two rescue dogs, a therapist who believes him, and the first small reasons to get up again.

BE A MAN: The Violence Society Ignores is a powerful story of coercive control, custody, fatherhood, recovery, and the long work of becoming whole after abuse. It is also an argument for changing the way we understand domestic violence.

Because abuse is about power and control-not gender.

Because caregiving is work.

Because a man can be a victim and still be strong.

And because the warrior needs protection sometimes, too.

Create Magic & Live Authentically.