payment page
Emily is Shawn’s girlfriend, and later his wife. She is 18 years old when she begins dating the 28-year-old Shawn. When the two become engaged, Emily strikes up a private conversation with Tara where she admits that Shawn has serious problems with violent behavior. However, Emily excuses Shawn’s actions by explaining that he’s a spiritual man who has a God-given gift and duty to “help” the women in his life. Although she does not say it directly, Emily implies that Shawn’s abusive treatment of her, Tara, and other female family members is godly and righteous, as he is showing them how to submit and be pious. Tara wants to tell Emily not to marry her brother, but, still dealing with her own fear and trauma surrounding Shawn, is unable to speak the words. Their conversation is mostly one-sided, and it seems that Emily is trying to convince herself, not Tara, that marrying Shawn is what she truly wants.
After marrying Shawn, Emily becomes pregnant and births their first child, but it soon becomes clear that she is being badly abused. Although Gene and Faye do not support Shawn’s treatment of Emily, their main concern is to protect Shawn and the family’s reputation. They discourage involving outsiders – like therapists or police – in what they consider a family matter. They care for and comfort Emily after she’s been abused, and then return her to Shawn once he’s calmed down, thus letting the vicious cycle of abuse continue unchecked. Emily’s abuse becomes the catalyst for Audrey and Tara staging an intervention with the family about Shawn’s behavior. However, as it quickly becomes clear that Gene and Faye will protect Shawn over their daughters and daughter-in-law, Emily’s situation tragically fades into the background. While Tara’s education and resources allow her to distance herself from the family entirely, Audrey and Emily are left to fend for themselves in a family dynamic in which they have no power. Emily remains married to Shawn at the end of the memoir, and the likelihood that she is still actively being abused is high.
