“I want to say something,” she announced.

The table quieted.

“A year ago, I thought being a good wife meant not causing trouble.

I believed that if I stayed patient enough, made myself useful enough, and asked for little enough, things would get better.”

She looked around at the faces gathered there.

“I was wrong.

Kindness isn’t the same as surrender.

And keeping peace is not worth losing your place in your own life.”