Cleveland Author Katie Baker Shares Her Journey from Trauma to Transformation

CLEVELAND, OH — Katie Baker, author of 'When The Universe Holds Your Hair Back', joins the latest episode of Your Purpose, Your Power to share a deeply personal account of healing and transformation. A writer, speaker, and energy healer, Baker offers an unfiltered look at what it means to face trauma head-on after decades of living behind what she calls “a façade of perfection.”

“My story isn’t just about surviving… it’s about what it takes to truly heal when everything unravels,” Baker said in the episode. “Audiences walk away with hope, validation, and tangible insight into how healing can happen… even after decades of suppression.”

Baker, who lives in Boise, Idaho, described how she spent years looking like she had it all together — a successful nonprofit founder, an involved mother, and a dedicated member of her community — all while silently battling childhood trauma, addiction, and emotional exhaustion. “From all outside appearances, I looked like I had it together,” she shared. “But there was a secret double life. I was drinking every night, just sitting in my room by myself. I was really lost.”

The turning point came during a conversation with her 18-year-old son in September 2021. After a family reunion where Baker admits she had been “15 beers deep,” her son sat beside her and said, “You’ve had a really rough childhood. I think it’s really important for you to spend a year on yourself and to heal. We love you and we have your back.” Baker recalled, “That really set me off on a healing journey. My daughter had said something a month prior, but my son’s words were the catalyst.”

Over the following year, Baker explored unconventional methods to confront her trauma, including guided psychedelic therapy. “I was scared, to be honest,” she said. “But I had read Michael Pollan’s book and watched documentaries on the impact of therapeutic psychedelics in healing. It wasn’t about having fun — it was about facing the things I had been unwilling to face in my own life.” She described her first experience as a profound breakthrough: “When I left that ceremony, I hadn’t actively cried but tears just rolled down my cheeks for hours. It was like a cracking open. For the first time, I could look at my experiences with compassion for myself.”

Baker spoke candidly about the weight of generational trauma and the relentless pursuit of perfection that defined much of her adult life. “I thought if I did everything perfectly — volunteered, worked hard, raised my kids — that it would make everything right,” she said. “But it was an illusion. My son’s words about taking care of myself really brought that home. I had been chasing something that doesn’t exist.”

Her book, When The Universe Holds Your Hair Back, grew directly out of her healing journey. “During ceremonies, I kept hearing a voice say, ‘You need to write the book,’” Baker revealed. “It happened enough times that I finally listened. I shared some blogs with a local author who said, ‘You’ve got something here. Write the book.’ Once I started, all the doors opened; editors, designers, everything fell into place.”

Baker now runs Peace & Fire Healing, where she integrates intuition, Reiki, and energy work to help others release emotional burdens and reconnect with their authentic selves. “I found out through this process that I have intuitive abilities I never knew about,” she said. “My goal is simple — how many people can I help, and how can I make an impact?”

Her message to podcast listeners is both raw and hopeful. “Life is better when it’s felt,” she said. “Being perfect is a bullshit fallacy, and authenticity is a gift — both to ourselves and to humanity.”

Baker’s book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IngramSpark, and in audiobook format on platforms such as Spotify.

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