Baptized by Love: How I Found Present Joy and Never Let It Go

A powerful, loving presence I can’t quite describe pulses through me… clearing my mind at last…. I am astonished by this second chance—this feeling of warm, tender, indescribable, and unconditional love permeating me.

Here, in my naked vulnerability, I think of how, just 48 hours before, I felt the cold steel of a barrel beneath my chin and the icy determination that I didn’t deserve to live. Rewinding the reel of those last hours chills me to the bone. How am I afforded this moment of grace, this chance to choose love over fear? How is it that love found me in the rubble of self-loathing, of shame, of abuse and abject failure? I don’t know, yet that ‘I don’t know’ is merciful freedom. I breathe it in, dispelling the chill.

In Baptized by Love, Danét Palmer’s ability to unflinchingly express her raw innermost thoughts and feelings during moments of darkness as she slowly learns to come into her own light provides a powerfully transforming read. This memoir is a story of forgiveness, redemption, and the restoration of self-love and abundant happiness—a resounding promise that no matter the heartbreak, violence, or trauma you've experienced, you can use your pain to uncover a life of present joy.