Challenging stereotypes of intimate-partner violence in 'No Visible Bruises'

Journalist Rachel Louise Snyder studied intimate-partner violence — commonly referred to as domestic violence — for nearly eight years, but it wasn't until she was in her last months of reporting that her stepmother revealed she had been the victim of abuse.

The abuse had happened years earlier, during her childhood and first marriage. Despite growing closer with Snyder, her stepmother kept that secret until a few weeks before she died.

Snyder admits that the experience was jarring, despite everything she knew about intimate-partner violence.

She writes: "If someone I'd known for thirty-eight years could keep her abuse from me, what did it say about how we deal with abuse in our midst today, the shame and stigma it still carries?"

Her new book "No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us" is full of intimate stories that challenge stereotypes around domestic violence.

Snyder joined MPR News host Kerri Miller and Tara Richards, assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha, Tuesday morning for a conversation on intimate-partner violence.