TAMPA, Fla. — When someone hurts you or causes you pain, finding forgiveness can be one of the hardest things to do. Natalie Baird-King is a successful attorney who grew up in Polk County. She's also a survivor of childhood abuse and domestic violence.
But it wasn't until recently that Natalie took on one more title, author. She wanted to share a message that unlocked her purpose of helping others heal.
"I grew up in an abusive household," she said. "My father was abusive to myself, my mom and us four kids and I carried a lot of that trauma throughout my lifetime."
Natalie Baird-King talks openly about the abuse she suffered as a child that followed her into adulthood. She describes a time when a college boyfriend broke her arm.
"Eventually, I finally said enough is enough because I couldn't stop carrying those emotions with me," she said.
Natalie says there was guilt and shame she needed to come to terms with. And the key to all of that was forgiveness.
"It wasn't just for my abusive father," she said. "It was for all the men that I had been in a relationship that abused me. But, it was most of all, forgiveness for myself."
Once Natalie unlocked her own freedom, she knew she needed to share it with others. So she decided to write a book with encouragement from her late father-in-law, author and TV host Larry King.
"He told me, 'Natalie, just write from the heart. And if you write from the heart, you'll get it done.'"
In the book, Natalie breaks down the process into 4 essential steps. She says everyone also needs to recognize the myths about forgiveness. One of the biggest is thinking it excuses the person that hurt you.
"That's not what forgiveness is about," she said. "It's for our freedom. It's never for them."
Natalie hopes this book can help others take that healing journey of forgiveness.
"But if one person, if one person can change. If one person can find forgiveness because I'm sharing my message and being vulnerable about it, about my hard journey to this point, it is so worth it," she said. "And these are tears of joy because I know that I can get to this place of joy and gratitude."
She says anyone can use the advice in this book, whether you need to forgive something big or some small things.