Sandra Cisneros takes her time setting the context in Woman Hollering Creek. She describes their tough relationship. They struggle to find passion in it. Most of the workload is done begrudgingly towards each other. Neither of them left out of a sense of obligation to one another. They stick through it because they rushed into a relationship. It happens slow and then suddenly. Sandra recognizes this and paces the story in the same way. Each day gets a little worse, and they fight a little harder. It creeps up on them and leaves them surprised the first time it happened. “The first time it happened she had been so surprised she didn’t cry out or try to defend herself” like she had  always thought she would. She had learned to expect it and had a plan for if it did. Emotionally its really tough to prepare for something like that. It can numb a person. Abuse is not something to be tolerated. Sandra Cisneros tells a  common story. Yet in many cases leaving can be so hard. Many women stay. Woman Hollering Creek is empowering and inspiring with a postitive ending. It can be easy to convince oneself they didn’t mean it, won’t do it again, or worse, that  they’ve deserved it. Then that its not that bad. It was integral to Cleófilia’s and her children’s wellbeing that the health worker had reported the abuse. Do not stand for abuse. It can be hard to leave emotionally and physically. Fear is a powerful feeling and we need to do what we can to help. Stay weary for signs of gendered violence. It can and does happen.