Breaking the Illusion: Based on a True Story

By Gaea K. Coon MA LMFT

In Breaking the Illusion, author Gaea K. Coon shares her intimate journey, the story of a psychotherapist who discovers she is in an abusive relationship during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She chronicles her path in breaking the generational cycle of abuse, healing trauma, and returning to her true self.

By telling her story, Coon brings awareness to others regarding childhood trauma, narcissistic abuse, and abusive relationships, chronicling her awakening, death, and rebirth. She inspires others to share their truth, voice their stories, reduce stigma, alleviate shame, and assist in healing.

Trauma surrounds us all—not just combat soldiers, but also a neighbor who just lost their child in a car accident, a sibling who was assaulted, a friend who is in an abusive relationship, a child who is neglected, and many others. But healing can happen, and healthier relationships can be formed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Aug 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798765244128

Gaea K. Coon MA LMFT

Gaea K. Coon, MA, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist who has a private practice in Sonoma County, California. She earned a Master of Arts in counseling from Sonoma State University. Coon has a diversity of experience working with trauma, including veterans, rape crisis counseling, residential treatments programs for substance abuse, mentoring programs, and in educational settings.

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Copyright © 2023 Gaea K. Coon.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 979-8-7652-4411-1 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-4413-5 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-4412-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023914088

Balboa Press rev. date: 08/14/2023

CONTENTS

Planting the Seeds

The Illusion

The Awakening

Signs from the Universe

The Fall of the Empire

Summoning My Protectors

Awaking the Tiger Within

My Rebirth

Healing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my mother and her birth mother. To all

the courageous, wild, and rule-breaker women

who presided in my family’s history.

To my grandparents for being anchors

of stability in my journey.

To my soul sisters, Manisha and Danielle, for walking beside

me and showing me authentic and unconditional love.

A special acknowledgment to Joyce, a

catalyst in my healing and rebirth.

Editorial Acknowledgment

Thank you to Andria Flores for your support

in the beginning stages of my process.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The names of many characters in Breaking the

Illusion have been changed to protect the privacy

and identity of individuals. The names and details

of clients mentioned in Breaking the Illusion have

been changed to protect confidentiality.

The content in Breaking the Illusion may bring up a variety of emotions or sensations. Please take your time, stop at any time for some grounding, and resume when it feels good for you. Grounding may include walking in nature, meditation, a deep breath, movement, singing, drawing, or a warm cup of tea. Explore what makes you feel grounded. I encourage you to talk with a compassionate friend or a mental health professional.

DEDICATION

—1—

Breaking the Illusion is dedicated to anyone who has been impacted by interpersonal trauma, domestic abuse, or narcissistic abuse. If that is you, I encourage you to know that you are not alone, and I implore you to voice your pain to others. My purpose for writing this book is to bring awareness to survivors of abuse that shame does not belong to you, to offer support in your journey of healing, and to encourage the realization that you are beautiful and whole. Healing can happen. Healthier relationships can be formed.

Let’s love and heal one another.

—2—

Breaking the Illusion is meant to shine a light on the complexities of interpersonal and generational trauma. Circumstances in life are not so concrete; rather, there is a lot of ambiguity. I desire to bring awareness to the impact interpersonal and generational trauma has on individuals and the community and to advocate for more education about relationships.

Let’s love and heal one another.

—3—

Breaking the Illusion is intended to reveal that trauma does not discriminate between genders, cultures, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Trauma surrounds us all—not just combat soldiers, but also a neighbor who just lost their child in a car accident, a sibling who was assaulted, a coworker who just had a major surgery, a student in your class who has been going through cancer treatment, a