Maya Emmett is single, and sixty-four years old. Visual art and writing are her creative passions, and although she loves to address controversial subject matter in most of her writing, she often indulges in poetic expression. She has several other book and art projects she hopes to complete. This multi-talented author is also an ordained evangelical minister, but through the years studied beyond the confines of traditional religious philosophies to explore true spirituality and holism. “I discarded the ‘Christian’ label over twenty years ago, after learning the Romans coined the term to mock The Christ, whom I love; and eventually learning it’s a divisive religion and too confining, opposing the teachings of The Christ.” As a survivor of molestations, rapes, and other abuses, she has endeavored to rise above what she has endured throughout her life, and declares that PUSSYWHIPPED—first published as “KILLING ADAM”—is not only a statement she was compelled to make, but also a testament to the power to overcome. She describes how hard she’s fought not to allow the abuses and rapes to transform her into an abuser, or make her bitter. “It has been difficult to continue to love and see beyond what has happened. The older I become, the more I realize how difficult it has been (and is) to fend off the mantle of bitterness and hatred. Yet, we all have a choice. We can succumb to hatred, or we can fight to love. My choice, my struggle, is not to ‘become’ what has happened to me—a perpetual victim. This book is in part a record of my ongoing struggle to love and rise above it all, continue healing, and my journey to find my genuine self.”