How the Principles from The Gift of Fear Saved My Life

The same principles that Gavin De Becker wrote about in The Gift of Fear saved my life many years ago. I believe that this is one book that every woman should own, and this is one story that every woman should read.

Ours was a small, brick bungalow on a corner lot in the middle of a big city. There were neighbors down the street, next door, behind us, and across the street, yet my home was fairly isolated. The garage entrance, the walkway to our house, and our side door all faced a side street that didn't get much traffic. On the other side of the street was an empty field that was several city blocks long and wide.

No one else was home when I came home late one night. I parked the car in the garage, closed the garage door and walked down the driveway towards the house. I walked past huge evergreen trees, trees that I never liked because they seemed the perfect spot to hide behind, past the side door, and took a short cut through two of the evergreen trees. Up three steps and I was on the side of the front porch.

Suddenly, I froze right where I was standing. I wasn't close to the door, and I really couldn't see the door from my angle. Still, I was frozen in my tracks, standing in front of the picture window. Something was wrong. I knew it. I sensed it. I felt it.

Even worse, someone, somewhere was watching me. I knew it. I could feel it. The front door was open - not wide open so the breeze could blow through the house, but open just enough to talk to me, to whisper to me, "Be careful. I'm not locked tonight."

A million thoughts ran through my mind in a millisecond. Was the door really ajar? Was it my imagination? I should look again. "No! DON'T LOOK! Pretend you haven't noticed anything," my mind screamed to itself.

Instincts took over. I scratched my head, squinted my eyes, pretending I was confused. Setting my purse on the cement porch, I thumbed through it, as if I was searching for something that was lost. I calmly stood up, shrug my shoulders and scratched my head again.

"WALK CALMLY," my mind yelled silently, "C-A-L-M. DON'T LET THEM KNOW YOU KNOW." I retraced my steps. "Keep pretending you lost something," my mind whispered.

It was an Academy Award winning performance.

Down the steps. Through the grass. Past the enormous evergreen trees. Down the sidewalk next to the deserted street and empty field, devoid of life.

"ACT NATURAL, ACT LIKE NOTHING IS WRONG," my brain kept screaming. I walked up the driveway, slid my key into the side door. Whoever was watching me was still there. They were still watching. I was only a few feet from safety.

I closed the door behind me. How I longed for power locks and windows. Instead, I felt around in the dark, rolled up the windows and locked all of the doors before I made my next move.

Sitting in the drivers seat, I took a deep sigh as I started the engine. The sound of the engine starting was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. With the hum of the motor, I released a deep sigh. Then I pressed the button to open the garage door.

I knew it just as I knew my own name. Backing out of the garage, I turned the car and headed in the opposite direction of my house.

Arriving at a friends, I told them to call the police. We drove back to my house and met the police there. Sure enough, our house had been robbed. The police confirmed my intuition - someone, maybe two 'someone's,' had been inside the house when I got home. They had pulled the curtains open an inch or so as they watched me walk out of the garage. They watched as I walked past the evergreen trees, past the bedrooms and living room up. They probably saw my shadow through the curtains on the front porch, too.

"They" watched me approach the house, and they had watched me walk away from the house.

I don't know how I knew that the door wasn't locked. The door was barely open a crack. There were no broken windows, no unexpected noises or movements inside the house to tip me that something was wrong. But something was wrong, terribly wrong, and I knew it instinctively. I am thrilled that I never had to experience anything that may have happened had I entered my home that night.

When your toes curl and your hairs stand on end, there's a reason. Pay attention to your gut reactions.

Encourage all of the women you know to listen to their intuition. If they don't believe you, maybe they'll believe me. Email this article to them. The principles from The Gift of Fear could save your life.