Is my sister in denial?

by Linda T
(Town Creek, Alabama, USA)

Is my sister being abused when her husband talks down to her like she is a three-year-old? After he does this, she starts telling him how wonderful he is. How he is better at doing things than other men. I know she lies to him about money she spends. He doesn't want her to have any contact with us, her family. It makes me angry and disgusted the way she lets him treat her this way. Before she married him, she was very outgoing and fun to be around. Now, she doesn't talk much and doesn't go out of her house without his approval. Am I right in being concerned?

Reply from Darlene: Linda, I understand your concern for your sister. While I have provided space for relationship violence stories—which might lead to confusion over what I can and cannot reply to—I've done so because relationship violence relates to couples who are not living together, and that typically affects adolescents. The issue of domestic violence (where the couple is living together) typically affects adults; and as such, is not one I can deal with on this site.

The reason I am posting your query with this reply instead of emailing you directly is because the privacy rules and regulations of SiteSell, the company who powers my site, do not permit me to do so, unless permission is expressly granted. When visitors provide their email addresses using the notification options on the thank you page—such as you did after submitting your question—those automated notification emails are the only ones you will get from me. While I recognize that most of my contributors would not mind if I emailed them directly, in order to remain in good standing with SiteSell, I must and will continue to abide by their rules.

I have replied further to this Ask Darlene question "Is my sister in denial?" below.

Email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses AND website/blog URLs in visitor comments are STRICTLY prohibited, and could result in being banned from making further comments on this site.