I was born free: a child of the Universe. So I breathe and stretch; breathe and stretch. Spreading wide my wings, with a final thrust, I lift off Into the unknown of life?s great expectations. Toward the mountain peak of my identity ? Buoyed by an unbiased spirit, Karen Fridie has overcome many painful whys in her life to emerge from her murky past and reach her God-given purpose. In a debut compilation of poems and essays, Karen explores the raw topics of domestic violence and rape in order to bring awareness to what has become a pandemic of abuse around the world. Her poems and personal stories reflect on the emptiness of fading ecstasy, the path to becoming a survivor and Eagle Woman, an emotional closet that hides dark secrets, and a painful purging of the soul that emptied old beliefs and replaced them with euphoria and a new pledge to bless others. Wounded Eagle: Now She Soars is a volume of free verse and essays that candidly explore the raw topics of abuse, faith, forgiveness, healing, and self-love.