A Decade with Dave: Dancing with the Devil

She thought she’d found love. What she uncovered was a slow, suffocating prison. In the haze of the 1970s, Josie is young, hopeful, and eager to build a future. When she meets Dave, his charm is disarming, his attention flattering. But what begins as affection soon curdles into control. Isolated from friends, broken down by manipulation, Josie struggles to reconcile the man she fell for with the one who now cages her spirit. Each time she tries to escape, Dave reappears—repentant, generous, familiar. But kindness is only the bait. The cycle repeats, leaving Josie doubting her sanity, her strength, and even her worth. Set against a backdrop where women’s silence was often mistaken for consent, this intimate, emotionally charged novel follows Josie’s long road to freedom. As she rebuilds her life for her and her two children, carving out a future through education and sheer will, she discovers what it means to reclaim identity and agency. Raw, haunting, and ultimately hopeful, A Decade with Dave is a powerful exploration of coercive control, survival, and the quiet revolution of self-empowerment.