Hello Everyone.My grief couselor found this site for me. Here is a brief synopsis of my story. First off, I have a personal history of having been abused for many years since childhood. In 2008 my marriage fell apart completely after 20 years (not physically abusive). I moved away and I met a wonderful man. He was seperated from his wife of also 20 years after finally escaping the physical abuse. She beat him fiercely for all these years. When I met him he lived on his boat. He moved into my apartment when his boat had to come out of the water for the winter. He was frail and scared. It took months for him to not flinch anymore when I touched his head. He had developed a drinking problem he could not get under control, but he was the sweetest, most caring, beautiful soul I ever met. The morning of April 10, only 17 months after we met, I found him dead in bed next to me. I am devastated. I know in my heart that all the abuse he continued to suffer (verbally) from his wife and all the secrets he kept out of fear were the reason for his death in the end. They did not find a cause of death, he just stopped breathing. They said he went completely peaceful, the way we all want to go some day, just not at the age of 53. I am here because I feel (and have long before Jeff’s death) a great conection to the cause of abused men. I watched my mother beat my father all throughout my childhood. The stigma is so great and there is so little help out there. I am looking to help others and to raise awareness of the issue. I live in West Michigan.Barb