Hello, Allen--"Creaked open the doors of our hearts" -- I'm having writer's envy as I wished I'd written such a wonderful phrase. You've also put into words one of my strongest personal beliefs, that there is caution in extrapolating and generalizing, in saying that all marriages are bad due to a bad experience with one or two people...I so wish people would keep that in mind, but I also understand that when they've been hurt badly, they feel a need to avoid what has been associated with that hurt. It is a shame that we can be hurt those we trust most, yet for some of us, the potential 'ecstasy' you wrote about may be worth the risk.