When Rowan Coleman began researching her latest book, Dearest Rose, she posted on Facebook asking if anyone had any personal experiences of domestic abuse they might share with her in complete confidence.
Rowan was shocked and amazed by the response:
"There were more than 200 emails waiting in my inbox the next day. Each story I read was horrific and frightening in its own way, giving me an insight into the secret lives of many women; lives that all too often remain hidden.
"Domestic abuse can happen to anyone – well-educated wealthy women are just as likely to suffer as women from a working class background – but the one thing all those women had in common was that they were survivors. After years of being mentally and physically beaten down, they had managed to find the emotional strength, somehow, to break free and start again.
"Now I want to do something that will help other women find that inner courage, and change their lives. Domestic abuse was a subject I’d touched on briefly once before, when I wrote a short novella: Woman Walks into a Bar, which to this day remains one of the pieces of work of which I am most proud.
"On 10 September I’m publishing Woman Walks into a Bar as an ebook for the first time. And 100 per cent of my proceeds will be donated to Refuge.
"My goal is to raise £10,000."
You can help raise funds for Refuge by pre-ordering or buying Woman Walks into a Bar.
You can be a best friend to someone you have never even met. You can help someone out there find the support they need to change their lives.
Woman Walks into a Bar
Refuge is a charity dedicated to helping women and children suffering from domestic abuse and violence. Refuge free helpline number 0808 2000 247