I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me; All day I feel its feathery turnings, its malignity.--Sylvia Plath

I know this fear intimately. Its shadow creeps through my nightmares: will I become what I hate? Will I repeat the cycle of abuse? Will the abused become the abuser?

Breaking the cycle requires constant vigilance, a determination to act and live differently. And even then, sometimes this Dark Me leaks out in a sudden flick of judgmental tongue, a harshly critical word, a callous dismissal. I was raised in condemnation. My greatest challenge is to receive grace–and to give it....READ MORE AT MICHA BOYETT'S BLOG (and enter for a chance to win a copy of my book).