Dear Molly,
Where you will be in two years is not: getting in a white dress, sitting in Tennessee, and you sure as hell will not feel unsafe anymore. You will however: cry to yourself once in a while, you will send page long text messages to Lynsey, and you will have fought your toughest battles to date. However, most importantly you will have become so proud of yourself that you won’t realize it. And as I write this letter to you, I want you to share your experience with other women and remind them of this. Tell every young woman how proud she should be of even the smallest steps toward safety and independence she has taken. I want you to tell other women that they did nothing wrong to deserve cruel treatment and that no matter how many times they tell themselves or someone else tells them, I want them to believe it. I want to remind them that impulse shopping gets worse with tears, so be careful. I want them to believe life happens how it’s supposed to, and I want to remind them that going out on a weeknight to have a drink with friends is allowed now. Reconnect with the loved ones you pushed away, and find strength in anything you can because it will help you survive. You are more than that broken finger, you are more than a Facebook status, you are worth more than you were told. Remember that slander is ugly; don’t let it bring you down. Court is hard, wear a pink dress, your father is a powerful man and he will always fight your battles, your mother is a strong woman and she will always listen to you cry, and make sure you pour the glass of wine.
I want to tell you two years from now the only important thing to remember is you can do this. The only thing you will regret is having let someone else abuse you and convince you that you were unworthy. That person is the one who is blind to the truth and you can’t help him because he has to figure it out and come to the reality of his behavior and the consequences. You cannot fix him or fight his battles---that’s his to discover.
Much Love,
Molly Francis