Editor's Note: Help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached here or by phone at 800-799-7233
On Friday, Robin Morgan, the image maker of Robin's Nest Photography Studio was taking school portraits.
Though she said stories can be found in the images she creates, the story of a survivor sits behind the camera.
“(I) just was mad at the world, mad at my mom, mad at my dad," said Morgan. "I was a very feral child ... I went to California to just experience life and fell in with some bad people.”
At 19 years old, she fell into the hands of her domestic abuser, someone who eventually kidnapped her.
“Love is not getting kidney punched, or tossed across a room, or getting called names I can’t say," said Morgan. "I left six, seven, eight times and he found me, and found me, and found me, and finally—ultimately, he kidnapped me.”
Her account as a survivor of domestic violence is at the heart of her book, The Silver Charm, a namesake that comes from a gift given to her by a coworker, seemingly a stranger.
"I didn’t have anybody, but my abuser. (The charm) meant a lot to me," said Morgan, who explained the gift, engraved with the word 'love,' was covered in dirt when she received it. "That guy has no idea – I never saw him again. He has no idea that that small thing changed the course of my life.”
Despite being alone at the time, she said photography was a constant companion, and recalled a photo she had taken during that period of time of a young girl looking out a window, crying.
“Photography – it just saved my life in that way. I don’t know where I’d be without this," said Morgan, "Yeah, (being on your own is) hard, but it’s hard in a different way. I don’t go to bed crying every night.”
She now shares her story to remind those like the 12 millionothers experiencing abuse from an intimate partner that they are worth saving.
“I just see beautiful people being abused and it breaks my heart," said Morgan. "It does get better, and you can do it on your own.”
