FUSE TV - Exclusive: Big Freedia's Hurricane Katrina Survival Story From Her Memoir

Between the rise of twerking, New Orleans Bounce music and her own hit series here on Fuse, music icon Big Freedia's star has rocketed in the past three years. On the verge of becoming a household name, the New Orleans native just released a new autobiography, Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva!, written by Freedia with co-author Nicole Balin.

While Freedia's popular docuseries have covered the rapper-singer's recent personal and professional struggles and successes over three TV seasons (a fourth season premieres this fall), the Queen of Bounce has rarely talked about her childhood or early years in the New Orleans music scene. God Save the Queen Diva! lets Freedia tell her story on her terms.

Next month marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in American history and one of the nation's deadliest hurricanes on record. In 2005, Freedia and some of her family decided to stick it out and got trapped in the heart of the storm and its tragic aftermath. In this exclusive excerpt from her book, Freedia recounts the first terrifying night. Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva! is available now.