This is Strong
"Think very carefully before you marry. I took my marriage vows to the extreme"
Mary was brought up as a strict Catholic so when she got married "in sickness and in health" meant an awful lot to her.
Little did she know that she was in for years of cruelty and abuse. Her husband was a schizophrenic, and his condition meant that Mary never knew what was coming next. As she tried to manage the mounting debts that her husband inflicted on her she found herself working day and night to keep her and her children safe. This meant often leaving her children at home with their dad whilst she went to work.
It was only years later that she discovered that she wasn't the only one who had suffered abuse.
Mary is Cat's mum from the episode This Is Cat. She tells her own side of the story, and explains that whilst you can try and always do the right thing - sometimes it all turns out wrong anyway.
Mary tells her story in the hope that if anyone stuck in an abusive relationship hears her story and finds strength from it - then it was worthwhile telling.