Legacy of Love and Pain

The story of Angela Hudson, who barely survived after her estranged husband set her on fire, and of the effects of the attack on her family. Originally published in the Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX), in 2002.

Every 15 seconds, a woman in America is beaten by her husband or boyfriend. Each year, a million-plus are left black and blue by men who claim to love them. They are the lucky ones.

Every day, four of them die. Others live a lifetime with mental and physical scars.

On April 9, 2001, in Houston, a brutal attack forced three generations of women to face their family's legacy of violence.

Doris Tate, a grandmother, is trying to make amends for a decision that haunts her family.

Angela Hudson, Tate's daughter, is recovering physically and emotionally from the shocking assault by her estranged husband, a man accused of tying her up, dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire.

And Angel Tate, Hudson's teen-age daughter, a witness of years of abuse against her mother, is blossoming into a young woman and helping to hold her family together.