Sometimes, we know shockingly little about the people we think we know best. Inspector Gil Hill, head of Detroit Homicide Division, was the first to explain my husband's twisted behavior to me. Hill bluntly disclosed that Al had led a double life for the previous 18 months in a red-light district in the inner city using the alias "Dr. Miller". He had frequently been seen in the company of a burly pimp and young prostitute and had been supporting their salacious lifestyle. At this point, he had been missing a week.

Evidence had been gathered. We were probably broke. He had been dismembered. The press had questions. I was needed at the morgue. In those ghastly minutes, I not only learned truths about my deceitful husband, I learned truths about life. I understood that when it comes to marriage there are things known, unknown, and known too late. I vowed then I would not become collateral damage.

What you have before you is a memoir of the darkest days of my life as a widow and so-called homicide survivor. It is raw and detailed and deliberately personal. You will hear what I heard, see through my eyes, know what I thought. Though I can never claim to be unbiased, I rendered the contents as faithfully as possible and relied on many sources beyond my own recollections. I left my redacted life of 30 years to divulge this account.

Healing and insight do not happen overnight. This memoir will transport you through an extraordinary experience in an otherwise ordinary life. This is a cautionary tale as well as a true comeback story from a nightmare that never had to happen.

The defendants had their say in court. Now it's my turn.

Scroll up and let the journey begin.