Katie, Thank you for writing this. How many years did I ask myself this same question? I stayed married for 26 years and have no regrets except one; that I gave up my career to push him forward. I raised 4 incredible human beings, numerous animals on the farm and did my best to be a whole and complete human in all of my interactions. Staying with a good man, even though it was the wrong man taught me a lot of lessons. The most vital was that I held him back. I did not mean to, but it is true. He held me back as well, but I was not the focus of my life. In order to leave him, I had to realize it was not just me that was suffering; he was as well. We are better parents separated. We are happier people separated. I am grateful for what I have learned and grateful that my children have witnessed it all, sad and glad, messy and joyful. They will not make my mistakes. They will make their own.