And it was all so easy for him.

So easy to learn so much about us. He knew that my daughters and I had just moved into a tiny apartment. He knew because we took photos of the denim fabric curtains we sewed for the windows. He knew where my daughters went to school. He knew because I took pictures of them in their crisp, new school uniforms on their first day of school.  

He knew that I threw a party when I got my divorce papers. He knew because I had my oldest daughter take a picture of me holding the divorce decree in one hand while giving a big, "thumbs-up" with the other hand.

Yes, it was so easy for him to learn so much about our lives. All he had to do was look at our pictures--photographs of our lives.  

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? I think so. By examining the photographs taken over several months, he learned about all the big and little events in my life with my daughters. Our photos gave him amazing access to our lives.  

And he used what he learned. He used it against us. He forced his way into our lives, using the information he'd learned to take advantage--to terrorize us.

It all started when I dashed into the corner drugstore on my lunch break. A few days earlier, I'd dropped off nine rolls of film for developing. That may seem like a lot of film, but I'd been busy getting my life reorganized after finally divorcing my lazy, irresponsible husband. I'd always loved taking pictures of the big and little events in my life, so I had lots of film, and I finally had the money to get the photos developed.