In 2019, I lost my home. It was no longer safe for me to go home. The man that had been my ‘father figure’ had realised I was a free woman, that I didn’t belong to him, and that I had found love. He couldn’t accept it, and suddenly I couldn’t go home.

I spent the next year avoiding endless calls and emails. I spent it dreading going to work. Going to the shop. Going to the front yard. The man would not let go. I spent it missing my family, who was bound by his demands.

I spent 2021 caring for my mother. The man didn’t love her anymore. She too lost her home. She lost the love of her life, she lost her hope… And I nearly lost her. The world became too much for her.

In 2022… I realised the world is quickly becoming too much for me.