Summary

Michelle met Rocky when she was fourteen and he was twenty-four; she got pregnant quickly and had Kristy at fifteen. Her parents, Paul and Sally (who are divorced) both thought Rocky was too old for their teenage daughter and never thought Michelle would disobey them when they told her not to see him. Paul says that there is no evidence of Rocky's violence on any of his daughter's home movies, though there are dents in his front door from a time when Rocky tried to beat it down. Michelle is characterized as steadfast and determined. Like many women in her position: "They stay in abusive marriages because they understand something that most of us do not [...]: as dangerous as it is in their homes, it is almost always far more dangerous to leave" (25).

Michelle and...