The here for each of the women at the Center for Nonviolence has arisen from some type of domestic abuse, either as victim or perpetrator. Partner abuse or violence may be the most prevalent motivator to attend, but according to Beth Murphy Beams and Maralee Martin, facilitators of this support group, most of the women also have histories that include multiple traumas, such as child abuse or neglect, child molestation, rape, or incest. Some women have lost children to violent deaths or have children who are violently mentally ill. Others have experienced political torture and violence or abuse because of ethnic heritage or sexual orientation. The support groups were originally established for the spouses and partners of men attending the nonviolence (angermanagement) classes court-ordered for batterers, and provide women not only emotional support, but education about how to live, as well, without inflicting or tolerating violence and abuse. Whatever motivates them to attend Center support groups may have occurred recently or in the distant past. These are the women I invited to participate in a series of creative writing classes I led. I expected to help them change their lives; instead, they changed mine.