Tina Talbot is getting better at talking about it.
She can detail the abuse, the fear, the feeling of being trapped and, yes, the events of a September day in 2018 when she shot and killed her husband.
If you need help
The Women's Resource Center can be reached at 800-554-4972.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-SAFE (7233).
Talbot is set to address all of that on Wednesday night at an event for the Women’s Resource Center in Traverse City, which is marking 50 years of service.
The organization works with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, providing resources and shelter as needed.
Finding help was hard for Talbot back in 2018. A coworker connected her to a southeast Michigan organization that does similar work to the Women’s Resource Center.
“I never went any further than just talking to somebody at that point,” she told Interlochen Public Radio. “I was so afraid of what he would do if he found out. He made it clear that there wasn’t any place I could go, there was no place I could hide that he would not find me and follow me and get rid of me. So I never followed through with anything. I was too afraid to.”
Talbot’s story is, at least in part, the result of not knowing where or how to find help before a dangerous and volatile situation became explosive and tragic.
She hopes speaking out about it can help other women avoid the same path, and get help much sooner.
Listen to her story, told to IPR’s Ed Ronco, through the audio player above.
Interview Highlights
On awareness: “I want people to realize this stuff happens, and as horrible as it is, it could be anywhere. It’s out there. It could be relatives, it could be friends, family. It could be strangers. It could be somebody you work with. We’re masters at hiding it sometimes. … Do what you can to help somebody. If that means getting involved with a center like this — do what you can.”
On struggling to find help: “It’s hard. It’s very hard. But when you think of the alternative, you think of the fact that if this progresses, it’s only going to get worse, and you might end up dead. Is it worth the risk? I wish I had been strong enough to do that back then — to just say, ‘You know what? This is a no-win situation. It’s only going to get worse. It’s only going to escalate and I’m going to end up dead.’ And maybe that would have prompted me to actually seek help and do something. But I was so broken down.”
On life now: “To me, coming home to my home every night, or coming home after being at my parents’, that’s happiness to me, because I spent time with my family, who I was alienated from for years. I can come home to my house and not worry (about) what I’m going to walk into, who’s going to beat me, what they’re going to say. My house is actually my house now.”
