The pandemic has led to an increase in domestic violence in Canada.

Dr. Angela Mailis is a world-renowned expert on chronic pain management. In recent years she has directed her research toward a persistently puzzling, misunderstood, and ignored form of domestic violence: the abuse endured by high-achieving women who to all appearances have everything they need to stand up for and protect themselves.

This shocking reality was brought home for Dr. Angela Mailis when Dr. Elana Fric-Shamji, a respected family doctor, was killed by her neurosurgeon husband — who was a colleague of Dr. Mailis’ at Toronto Western Hospital — in 2016.

Sadly, it was familiar territory for Dr. Mailis, who herself had been involved in an emotionally abusive relationship for twenty-seven years.

Now, Dr. Mailis reveals her surprising findings, timely insights, and urgent advice in her book, Smart, Successful and Abused: The Unspoken Problem of Domestic Violence and High-Achieving Women.

Featuring personal testimonies, findings from the frontiers of medical research, sharp statistical analysis and brand-new survey results, in Smart, Successful and Abused, Dr. Mailis shows that no amount of wealth or success will insulate a woman from the potential of an abusive relationship — which, despite the public admissions and advocacy of celebrities like Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, and Rihanna, continues to be a pervasive myth.

“I hope that my ‘coming out’ will educate and empower other women, especially those leading double lives: who are successful in their careers but timid, hurt, and hiding at home,” shares Dr. Mailis in the book’s introduction. “I hope that all domestically abused women will find support in knowing they are not alone. As I discovered, the support of other women can be a fundamental first step in healing.

“Partner abuse is, tragically, endemic to our culture,” Dr. Mailis continues. “If this book ends up helping a few women, it will be worth the years and deep emotion I have invested in it. Maybe it will even help to prevent the untimely death of someone like Elana.”

Today on Connections, Dr. Mailis shares her story of domestic abuse and how she managed to escape. She also shares what she discovered while researching domestic violence.