Stories

My memoir is a story of two sisters on a quest for freedom – a story that defies repression and explores the stakes when we fail to defend our rights.

Our worlds were different, but our goal was the same. I wanted social freedom to make my own choices. My sister, personal freedom to simply live her life.

I broke free from social injustice under a dominating government, determined to raise my children into independent adults with questioning minds. My sister suffered repression within her own home, an intelligent, confident woman diminished to an invisible victim of coercive control, without a voice.

To live, we must be free to choose, to speak and to act as we think fit. We must feel safe and respected within our home, and our home country.

Standing up for our rights – even not standing up for our rights – can change our lives dramatically. The ripples we make today can sweep across generations of tomorrow, making the confrontation of injustice and taking control of our lives, pivotal and urgent.

Did my sister and I regain our right to freedom? Did the way we confronted repression define the rest of our lives?