Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
A1. My name is Natacha Barthelemy. I am an entrepreneur in the business consultant industry. I am from Haiti, and moved to the United States two decades ago, where I worked as a Sales Representative for sixteen years and earned my Bachelor Degree in Homeland Security in 2019. I became a full-time entrepreneur in 2021 after walking away from a government job, and since then I have been helping my community build their business on solid ground, providing them with strategies and tools for success. I can now call myself an Author, as I just published my first book “The Beast Inside of Me: My Weapon to Freedom”, which is my memoir.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “The Beast Inside of Me: My Weapon to Freedom”?
A2. When I started to write my story in 2020, one of the main challenges that I encountered was to face my own self. Every time I came across writing a chapter, I had to pause and take a breather, because it was so painful to relive those memories. I had forced myself to forget about certain situations from the past, and some of them haunted me my entire life. It was hard for me to keep on editing the book before getting it published, because every time it was like putting a knife in my throat.
I made so many bad choices in the past, some caused me a lot of damage. I self-sabotaged myself, and lived a very promiscuous life, so I was afraid of what society would think about me once my book got published. But the more I pushed back on publishing my book, the more I robbed myself of my happiness.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A3. I read a lot. Reading is part of my personal development and I make sure I read at least one book or two a month. But, if I had to mention a book that influenced me during my writing period I would say it was the Bible. I remember how I felt very anxious before publishing my book and I kept on going about the story of the woman who was caught in adultery and the crowd wanted to stone her, in John 8:1-11, and Jesus told the crowd: “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”. I found my courage in this verse, knowing that as much as I would be judged, no one could say that they are better than be, not one.
Q4. What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
A4. My favorite spot to visit in Haiti would be Jacmel. It’s a small little town, in the countryside, and it is beautiful and peaceful with very nice surroundings.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘The Beast Inside of Me: My Weapon to Freedom’?
A5. The reason why I wrote my story “The Beast Inside Of Me: My Weapon to Freedom”, was first to leave my legacy behind, as I believe I am the only one who could tell my story the way it really happened. And second is to create a movement, inviting other women to come out of their shelves, stop faking it and lying about their past, no matter how ugly, dirty or sad it might have been. The reason why is because I know the cost I had to pay hiding what happened to me. It cost me to lose my pride, my self-esteem and myself.
I never knew who I really was until I wrote my story. I was living a lie, faking the funk to be accepted by others. I was a people pleasure, not allowing myself to say no to either good or bad situations, because of fear of rejection, or abandonment.
I want my story to not only inspire other women, but to impact them to the point where they too decide to live free. I want women all around the world to free themselves of their past mistakes, take ownership of their past, accept and forgive themselves and anyone who has hurt them in the past. And the hard part, I want them to be able to talk about their past freely, no matter how ugly it might be. May my story unleash them.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘The Beast Inside of Me: My Weapon to Freedom’?
A6. I first started to write my book over thirteen years ago, and stopped. Until 2020, during the lockdown of Covid-19, I had some free time and started over again. From that day, it took me three years to have the final draft.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
A7. I self-publish my book on Amazon.com, and it’s available on Kindle, Paperback and Hardcover copies.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Beast Inside of Me: My Weapon to Freedom’?
A8. I believe that I came up with the title from the moment I started to write the book in 2020. I can’t really recall how I decided on the title, but I believe it’s because it reflected what I experienced in my past. I always thought that I was unworthy of love because of the mistakes that I have made. The subtitle, on the other hand, came up as I was about to publish the book and I started to feel released, as if a big load was getting off my shoulder. I knew at that moment that I was experiencing true freedom, because I was no longer ashamed of my past. I had made peace with myself, loved myself for who she was and for who she was becoming and mostly for what she had overcome to become who she was now.
The cover picture was a picture that I took two years ago and that my son drew it and I thought it would be perfect because I wasn’t afraid of putting my face out there. I owned my mistakes and I am proud of the woman that I am now.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
A9. When I wrote the first draft of my book, it came up to over 600 pages, but I knew that it wouldn’t make sense to publish such a big volume of book. I believe that as much as we want to share everything with our audience, not everything is necessary. I had to go back and remove unnecessary contents, touched up on certain paragraphs and words, trying to not be too offensive. As much as I wanted to share every detail, it was best to keep it fresh and inviting to the readers.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
A10. The truth is I didn’t tell anyone that I was about to publish my story. And when I did most of my girlfriends told me that I should not have exposed myself like that to the world. I understand their point of view, because we grew up in a time, the 80’s, where what happened in the house stayed in the house. But I knew that’s one of the reasons why I never experienced freedom. I thought that as long as no one knew what I was doing, it was okay to do it, but it wasn’t. Because I hated myself at the end.
All that to say, I didn’t receive any advice while writing my story, but I have one advice to everyone reading, is to be who you really are. If they do not love you for who you really are, but only love the version that you portray them to be, then they never really loved you.
Buy The Beast Inside of Me on Amazon
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