Full Circle – Why I Speak Out

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I Can Breathe Again

No more walking on eggshells.

No more shrinking to keep the peace.

No more pretending.

I left control.

I found love.

And now — I breathe.

Fully. Freely. Fiercely.

I’ve always loved to write.

My husband calls my posts “punchy” — I take it as a compliment. Because sometimes, especially in family law and trauma, the truth needs to hit hard.

His love gave me the strength to grow again — like a flower pushing through concrete. He is my knight in shining armour.

If I could offer just one piece of advice?

If you’re with someone selfish, controlling, lacking empathy — someone who believes the world revolves around them — run.

Run fast. Don’t look back. Because they won’t change.

Staying will destroy everything: your peace, your confidence, your children’s safety.

And if you stay, you’ll walk through hell.

Not metaphorical hell — the real kind, designed to break you.

I know what it’s like to suffer. As a child, I spent years in hospital undergoing cancer treatment. I  hated needles. I hated the antiseptic smell, the hum of machines, the waiting.

But I loved books. They were my escape — not just from physical pain, but from the kind that hides in silence. Pages gave me power when I had none.

I never imagined I’d return to those same hospital corridors, not as a patient, but as a NHS frontline worker during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I also, stood beside the military and the ambulance in pop-up clinics, administering vaccines and CPR, holding hands, and holding space.

I had come full circle. I wasn’t the girl who needed saving anymore. I had become the one holding the needle — and the strength.

But strength doesn’t come easy. I know what it is to lose your voice — slowly, then suddenly.

Coercive control isn’t always loud. It’s subtle.

A disapproving glance.

A “you don’t need to do that.”

A lost bank card.

A growing silence. 

And then, without realising it, your world is smaller.

Your choices aren’t really yours.

Your money isn’t yours.

Your words are weighed.

That was my reality.

And like so many others, I stayed silent.

For my children. For peace. For fear.

But silence breeds shame, and shame is the perfect soil for abuse to grow.

Now, I speak. Deanna Newell Family Law isn’t just a campaign — it’s a reclaiming.

Of voice.

Of power.

Of truth.

I write to expose coercive control. To challenge the weaponisation of “parental alienation.” To shine a light on the systemic failures in the family court.

I write for the mother who was silenced.

For the child who was unheard.

For the survivor who was told to “just move on.”

We deserve better:

Truth. Transparency. Justice.

And above all — accountability.

This is just one story.

But I know it echoes.

If you’re reading this and it feels familiar, know this:

You are not alone.

You are not imagining it.

You are not powerless.

You are already surviving.

Now let’s start speaking.

Fully. Freely. Fiercely.

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Deanna Newell Family Law

Advocacy for truth-tellers, survivors, and the children who deserve better