And she shares how, years late, when returning to a motel where she had been abused, she had an idea - putting an 800 number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline on the bars of soap in the bathroom. In this talk from TEDxColumbus 2011, she recalls how she became stuck in a cycle of abuse by men much older than her. And through a simple crush on a classmate, was manipulated into something very dark - human trafficking. Theresa Flores was your average girl from the Michigan suburbs. And below, five more speakers brave enough to share their personal experiences and let others know they are not alone. To hear Steiner’s terrifying story - and how she finally got out by going public and talking to everyone she could about what was happening behind closed doors - listen to this powerful talk. Instead, I was a very strong woman in love with a deeply troubled man and I was the only person on earth who could help him face his demons.” Even though he held those loaded guns to my head, pushed me downstairs, threatened to kill our dog, pulled the key out of the car ignition as I drove down the highway, poured coffee grinds on my head as I dressed for a job interview, I never once thought of myself as a battered wife. All races, all religions, all income and education levels,” says Steiner. “As it turns out, I’m a very typical domestic abuse victim … Domestic violence happens to everyone.

Steiner calls the phenomenon “crazy love.” Like many other women and men experience each year, her relationship started with adoration, moved on to isolation, and culminated in extreme manipulation - and violence. She seeks to answer the question people always ask about women who are being abused: Why does she stay?

In today’s brave talk, given at TEDxRainier, Steiner tells the story of how she - a Harvard-educated magazine editor turned businesswoman - fell into an abusive relationship. Instead, she found herself married to a man who repeatedly pointed a gun at her head and threatened to kill her. Leslie Morgan Steiner thought that she’d found true love in her early 20s.

Success story of woman