Standing Up: making the best out of surviving the worst by Mary L. Devine is a fascinating memoir from a domestic violence survivor who becomes a police detective in the domestic violence unit.

When she was 23 Mary Sweeney-Devine got involved with her abuser. After surviving the first marriage she gets involved with a recovering alcoholic with dark secrets of his own.

After overcoming the odds and horrific abuse, she joins the police force with the aim of helping others who are where she has been. This is her story.

Huge thank you to Mary for telling your story, for your resilience and for working with NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This amazing book will be in stores May 6 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
From her own experience, this author does a great job of showing why women stay with their abusive partner. After she becomes a police officer, she tries so hard to help other victims not make the same mistakes she did. It has to be extremely frustrating to see women go back after such horrible abuse and to see the abuser either get away with it or get a very light sentence.
This is well written and enlightening and I highly recommend it.