I felt him release his grip on my life jacket. I turned my head, still frantically clinging to the dirt and rocks on the embankment he had pushed me to. I saw the look of surrender in his eyes, and the violent current responded by beginning to pull him away. I was safe. He could give up now. It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion as panic welled up inside me and I decided in that moment that I would rather die with him than live without him. I let go of the embankment to grab the strap of his life jacket. "Don't leave me", I screamed over the roar of the raging river as we were sucked back into the current we had been fighting so hard against. July 30, 2018 is a day that will forever be etched into my mind. As a survivor of childhood trauma and a Masters level … [Read more...]