Maria Volodkevich, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, skydiving instructor, and collegiate swimmer, dove into poetry just as she did into the swimming pool and out of the airplane. As an emerging poet, she uses poetry as a coping mechanism and an effective way to encapsulate her emotions while serving in the U.S. Air Force. From losing a friend to suicide, the dissolution of her marriage, and the unraveling of her self-worth, her poetry captures how time spent grieving can set us free from imprisonment.