And Then Came the Blues: My Story of Survival on Both Sides of the Badge [Hardcover]

After surviving a near-fatal assault, Katrina Brownlee refuses to let trauma define her. Instead, she rebuilds her life with purpose, dedicating herself to uplifting her community. A story of resilience, hope, and the power of giving,? This grim, harrowing tale of domestic violence is ultimately a story of staggering accomplishment.?That Brownlee not only survives, but becomes a police officer herself to stand against abuse, is a?miracle. That she now provides miracles for others is a triumph. Ms. Brownlee, who had only ever been let down and ignored by men with badges, even as she stood as living evidence of the beatings and violence one of them had delivered, approached an institution she deeply distrusted, and stepped inside . . . In 2001 she entered the police academy. What followed was a twenty-year career of promotions to busy, dangerous areas of policing, from the streets of Brooklyn to undercover work in narcotics and prostitution stings. She ended up on the elite executive protection detail, as a bodyguard to the mayor of New York . . . She retired . . . as a first-grade detective. Only when she decided to put away those uniforms for good did her story finally spill forth. Detective Katrina Brownlee is a true game changer. She embodies the power of survivors to build successful lives after trauma, demand improvements to the current system, and inspire a brighter future for the next generations. Each time Katrina Cooke Brownlee called 911 after her correction officer fianc? beat her, she says the police walked away after seeing his shield . . . [S]he took matters into her own hands and joined the NYPD to change the system from within . . . As a police officer, she channeled her energy into helping others get the support she never had. Instead of revenge or retaliation, Brownlee turned her own trauma into a path forward for other women. In 2012, she started a program for at-risk teens, which was eventually renamed Young Ladies of Our Future. Today, she usl3¸