As a child, Katrina Harris was protected and unconditionally loved by her parents. By the time she hit middle school, though, she felt too protected. Overprotected is more like it, controlled and restricted.

All she wanted was to be just like the other kids, free like them, accepted by them-a desire that wound up taking her as far from protected and loved as possible.

A child bride at 15. By 16, she was a mom with a history of "falling down the stairs" as recorded by local hospitals. Two years later, with 3 babies to call her own, she faced the unimaginable: a prison sentence to pay for what her husband had done.

"Even in your darkest hour if you hold on, you can make it." Her faith got her through.

"Please don't ever leave me!" Her children's cries strengthened her resolve.

"You are more than a conqueror. Your past does not define your future." Her mother's words inspired her to do whatever it took to turn her life around.

And she did.

Katrina, the ninth-grade dropout now has a Master's Degree, a successful business, and a loving husband.

Having walked through the fire, she is now reaching back to help other women and men see through the smoke of their past, tap into their potential, overcome adversity, and step into their power so that they can become the people they were destined to be, just as she does in this powerful memoir.