Broken Butterfly (Paperback or Softback)

Reality can be far more surreal-and cruel-than fiction. This is the heart-wrenching true story of Erin Gray, who was lured, held hostage by, and eventually escaped from a serial predator. Broken Butterfly delves into horror-movie territory in this retelling of a young woman's spiral into drug addiction after prolonged exposure to brutal physical, sexual, and mental torture. Told by her mother, Wanda Gray, this first-hand account follows Erin's journey through violent trauma, complex PTSD, drug addiction, recovery, and relentless relapses.

While retracing her daughter's tragically cut-short young life, the author also reckons with herself as she tries, over and over, to help Erin recover and live a full life. Told in dual point of view, Broken Butterfly follows the twists and turns of two women navigating a dangerous and terrifying road fraught with trauma, loss, and grief. Yet this cautionary tale is also full of hope and a celebration of Erin. Inspired by her daughter to write this profoundly personal memoir, Gray shares the ups and downs, fleeting triumphs and naive mistakes, and overwhelming joy and devastation.

Parts elegy, true-crime chronicle, and self-help manual, Broken Butterfly removes the stigma from drug addiction, reminds those suffering through similar experiences that they are not alone, and provides practical resources for support amid a growing global drug-addiction crisis. It's also a love letter to Erin Gray, the guiding light who helped write this book in spirit.

Wanda Gray describes herself as an "unfortunate expert" in the world of trauma, addiction, and loss after being on the frontlines as a mother with a child who suffered from substance abuse caused by deep trauma. Gray belongs to Moms Stop The Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use-related harms and deaths, and her writing has served as a form of cathartic therapy in short stories, articles, and now this book, Broken Butterfly.

Gray completed the creative writing program at the University of Saskatchewan and has been writing human interest articles for print and online publications for more than thirty years. She's a contributor to the online magazine Life As A Human, and teaches wellness and yoga. She lives in North Saanich, British Columbia, with her husband, where they share a two-family home with their son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, as well as three cats and a dog.