A Memoir · Survival. Strategy. Service.
Phoenix Uprising
What Survival Taught Me About Systems, Power, and Leadership
By Danielle Holmes, MPA
Preorder a signed copyAbout the book
Getting released and getting free are two different things
At twelve, Danielle Holmes entered the system. At fifteen, she was locked up. At twenty-five, she was in prison. In her thirties, she walked into a domestic violence shelter barefoot, with nothing left.
Phoenix Uprising is the story of what came next: a scholarship, a state line, a master’s degree, a home of her own, and a hard fall from the top of a career she built from nothing.
It is also a practical guide for anyone still inside, from what to say at intake to how to file a grievance, build an exit plan, and find the people who will help. Across fifteen chapters, each one opening with a poem or piece Danielle wrote at the time, it traces how the skills that keep a person alive become the skills that lead.
It is written for anyone living inside a system right now, and for the people who serve them: caseworkers, officers, counselors, and board members.
Getting released is something that happens to you.
Getting free is something you do.
Voices from the community
What readers are saying
“If you or someone you know has been touched in any way by the criminal justice system, this book is a must read. It is a combination of self-help book and life preserver tossed out to others who find themselves in dire situations.”
Ann Rick
Community Activist
“A poignant memoir of resilience, courage, and transformation. Rather than allowing these hardships to define her, she turns soul-crushing experiences into purpose, offering a powerful testament to restoration and hope.”
Edwina Salazar, MSW, ACSW
Clinical Social Worker and Retired Nonprofit Executive Director
“A compelling call to see what we would rather not see, question what we have too readily accepted, and reconsider our collective responsibility for one another.”
Dr. Mitch Peritz
Founder and Executive Director, Youth Rising-Up Initiative
Presale is open
Order your signed copy
Every presale copy is signed, and the paperback is $19.99. Choose free pickup at any book signing, or have it shipped in December. The Kindle edition arrives on launch day, December 12.
Your order is a book purchase, not a tax-deductible donation. It supports an independent, justice-impacted author publishing on her own terms.
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Ordering for an organization? Bulk packs of 20, 50, and 100 copies are available for programs, libraries, shelters, and reentry organizations. See bulk packs or get in touch.
About the author
Danielle Holmes, MPA
Danielle Holmes holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver with a specialization in Community Engagement. Her professional path runs through nonprofit leadership, government grant compliance, shelter and navigation services, community college instruction, and independent consulting.
She founded Abracadabra Consulting to bring the same systems fluency she developed as a survivor into her work supporting organizations and communities across Colorado. Phoenix Uprising is Danielle’s first book.
Phoenix Uprising: What Survival Taught Me About Systems, Power, and Leadership is an independent literary work published through Abracadabra Consulting, Ltd.