Then only 20, Zhang Xiaoyun had to leave her family and friends to live with her in-laws. She didn’t know or particularly care for her new husband, so it was only a matter of time before feelings of helplessness and resentment grew.
What’s more, as a woman living in rural China, Zhang had no status in her community. She was a second-class citizen, expected to cook and clean for her husband. There was no place for independence or even a personality of her own.

So Zhang did the only thing she could think of to escape—she tried to commit suicide.