Butterfly Rising: A Journey to Love, Healing and Freedom from the Cocoon of Codependency

Having a loved one struggling with addiction draws one into the relational dis-ease of codependency, also described as co-addiction. It means sharing in the chaos, dysfunction and trauma of their toxic habits and unhealthy lifestyle, sickening everyone involved, who lose themselves to the fear and desperation of witnessing one they love self-destructing.
After a lifetime of loss, watching helplessly as three of her dearest loved ones succumbed to alcoholism, Gail Ferguson Jones found herself suffering the collateral damage of dysfunctional family relationships.
A diagnosis of traumatic stress was her rock bottom, but also the place where she accepted this "gift of desperation" as a blessing in disguise, after years of alcoholic neglect, abuse and pain.
Gail shares a personal account of how she reclaimed her lost self from a lifetime of codependency and how you can too.
The pain and confusion of growing up with an alcoholic maternal grandmother, an alcoholic father, and then marrying a man who made her feel loved in the way only her dad had before him, but with the same growing problem.
She shares the years of mourning the untimely demise of each one, but also the journey of self-discovery, of growing beyond judgment and blame, and accepting responsibility for her own life.
Of learning self-compassion and forgiveness through prayer, meditation and journaling.
And most importantly, of never being afraid to admit when she needed help. She wishes her loved ones had only been so courageous.
And so now, as a Certified Peer Recovery Coach who works with families living in similar circumstances, Gail advises her clients to "never ask permission nor forgiveness," to get the help they need, without fear of judgment. That while none of us can save anyone else who's not willing to save themselves, we can commit to living our lives free of shame, resentment and self-sabotage.
We can set an example for those we love who are trapped in addiction by living the beauty of recovery and a life of joy and fulfillment. Just as we can't make the choice for others, there's no reason we should surrender our freedom of choice to them.
As a coach, Gail's goal is that each client is loved, healed and free. .