Picture your life before them.
You had a room. Your room. It was full of light. You had friends, purpose, identity, faith. You knew who you were. The door was wide open and people came and went freely. You had hope. You had a future. You had yourself.
Then they walked in.
They did not kick the door down. They did not force their way in. They walked in like they belonged there. They mirrored your light back to you so perfectly that you thought you had found someone who truly understood you. You invited them deeper. You gave them the keys.
How the Light Goes Out
It did not happen all at once. The light dimmed slowly. So slowly you did not notice. Like the sun going down, you assumed it would come back up. But it never did.
First they moved the furniture. Small things. A comment here. A criticism there. You stumbled in the growing darkness but figured it was your fault. You should have been more careful. More attentive. More understanding.
Then the mirror broke. The version of yourself they reflected back at you started to distort. You were no longer capable. No longer strong. No longer worthy. The reflection they gave you was shattered, and you started walking through the glass barefoot, bleeding, wondering why everything hurt.
Then the lights went off completely.
The Door You Cannot See
Here is the cruelest part. The door never disappeared. It was there the entire time. But in complete darkness, with broken glass on the floor and furniture rearranged to trip you, the predator convinced you it was never there.
"There is no door."
"You cannot leave."
"Nobody else would want you."
"You are the problem."
And every now and then, you see light from the crack under the door. Someone walks past. You scramble toward it, but you stumble. You hit something. You fall. The predator says, "See? You cannot even walk across a room. How would you survive out there?"
And you believe them. Not because it is true. But because the darkness has been your reality for so long that you have forgotten what light looks like.
This Book Turns on the Light
The Dark Room by Dr. Johnathan Hines is a survival guide. It identifies the three types of predators who lock people in dark rooms: narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths. It maps their tactics. And it provides a five phase escape protocol to get out alive.
You are not crazy. You are not weak. You are in a room with a predator who controls the light switch. This book takes back the power. The door exists. You just need someone to show you where it is.
Take the free assessment to find out if you are in the dark room right now.