Life and experience shape us all and not everyone grows up to be the confident, assertive or inherently cheerful person that we would all love to be. Each of us has our own weaknesses and we all learn from experience. During the past 18 years I have suffered at the hands of one extremely violent partner and another violent and manipulative partner, I have lived at home with my son, with a partner and my son and now alone with my sons. I have suffered terrible postnatal depression which left me hospitalised following several suicide attempts and I have been in the position where the electric has run out, it is a Saturday night and I have just 2p in my purse until Monday morning. It has been something of a journey and I wouldn't want to have to do it again, but I have learnt, I have lived through it and I have survived. I am not a victim, I am just me and I happen to be a single mum.