About
   The Book

Fear Less: Conquering the Demons of Mental Purgatory intimately chronicles my downward spiral into debilitating panic attacks and agoraphobia that began on my twenty-first birthday; a mental illness that sequestered me inside of my home for over a year.  When Western medicine failed, my Apache/Yaqui mother took me to the Pala Indian reservation to see a Medicine Man, who cured me that night in a sweatlodge ceremony, which was nothing short of a modern day exorcism.  

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Fear Less:  Conquering the Demons of Mental Purgatory goes on to detail a labyrinthine journey that explores my road to healing using various Western and Eastern modalities, conventional therapists, twelve-step programs, and spiritual healers, all of whom helped me learn how to deprogram the emotional conditioning that resulted from childhood trauma and a series of losses, and to instilled tools to reprogram new life conditions and achieve breakthroughs that re-awakened my true self. It is a gritty inner exploration into the darkness that lived inside me, and how I challenged and re-framed my mind to face those inner demons to cultivate new life conditions. 

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. 

- Buddha

Testimonials

As a person who suffers from anxiety quite often, I found this book very resourceful and helpful, almost a manual to refer to for a number of different  ailments as it delved into non-traditional healing. In addition, it offered unconventional wisdom! I felt connected to the author on so many levels. Every step of the way is a turn by turn adventure. 

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- Jim F. 

What a surprise! A friend of mine gave me a copy of the book “Fear Less” by Shawna Baca and once I started reading it, I could not put it down. This book is an intense, very personal story of a young lady struggling with depression and ultimately with agoraphobia. She details her feelings and uses real life experiences to move you through each emotion in an effort to conquer her demons.               

- Ron O. 

Your book is so raw. It's so honest and palpable, I think I stop breathing when I read it cause when I stop I end up taking big gulps of air. 

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- David A. 

I read this book because someone recommended it. I do not suffer from panic attacks or agoraphobia, but the writer takes you on a journey into her world of isolation and sequestering, depression and hopelessness. The writer explores healing through Native American spirituality which is a fascinating exploration as alternative medicine in dealing with mental disorders. It kind of has sprinkles of a journey much like Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist," whereas it takes you on an adventure into finding one's self, self-love, and healing from painful trauma. Everyone reading this will get something out of it. 

- Loren Cross

This book is a great read. It’s enthralling as Baca tells the take of her incredible battle with anxiety. Her honest open hearted account of her incredible experiences is not only comforting, enlightening and inspirational, it’s really ‘The Shero’s Journey.’

I found myself turning page by page excited to find out where this wild ride would take her.

This book can benefit anyone who has ever felt a multitude of fears. It also really breaks the taboo around mental health and the dire need for open communication and support in our communities.

Overall it’s a brave account that all of us on some level can relate to. Thank you Ms. Baca for your incredible talent, honesty and bravery.

- Toni M. Resler

photo by @biancasalgado

Chapter One 

 How it Happened

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear... is fear of the unknown. 

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                                      - H.P. Lovecraft

Listen

About the Author

SHAWNA BACA

Shawna Baca is the author of the transformational memoir, "FEAR LESS: Conquering the Demons of Mental Purgatory," and an award winning writer, director, and producer. She was selected by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett from more than 20,000 filmmakers to be part of the 2007 FOX television show, On The Lot.  She received a “Mujeres Destacadas” award by La Opinion newspaper and the City of Los Angeles and was honored at the Latina Symposium in Washington D.C. in recognition of her positive portrayal of Latinos and Hispanics in the media. Shawna has been creating New Media content for corporate clients ever since and has produced a feature documentary. She is currently developing the coming of age feature drama, "Space for Raven," which was a second rounder in the 2020 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, a 2020 WeScreenplay Diverse Voices - Semi-finalist, and a 2020 Script Pipeline Feature Screenplay - Quarter-finalist. 

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She was born in Los Angeles where she currently resides, and is Apache, Yaqui, Spanish and French. 

Author