Art and Artifice: A Memoir A Story of Love, Deception, and Healing on the Texas Gulf Coast

In the mid-2000s, Gail Bergan was in the midst of a second divorce when she fell in love again—hard. Paul was a colleague she'd worked with for more than a decade. When their stars collided, he seemed to be the one she'd waited for her entire life. He had exceptional artistic abilities and a deep desire to pursue a career as an artist that had lain unfulfilled since his college days. With encouragement and support from Gail, they both quit their jobs in Houston and moved to a small seaside town on the Texas Gulf Coast to open an art gallery that would showcase Paul's work. The triumphant grand opening of their gallery took place in September 2005. What happened 4 weeks later detonated a bomb that blew Gail's world apart, reverberating in her life for the next 10 years.

In "Art and Artifice," Gail's debut memoir, she describes the familiar patterns of getting involved with a narcissist: love bombing, emotional control and manipulation, gaslighting, abandonment—then return and repeat. How everything about Paul turned out to be a lie—from his statements about "my father prevented me from pursuing the arts as a career," to his lack of financial resources, to accusing Gail of being involved with other men (meanwhile, he was having affairs himself). She also describes how a brilliant therapist helped her break the pattern of control and set her on the path to healing. Gail wrote this memoir to help other women recognize these dangerous liaisons and to offer hope, solidarity, and support for those who choose to walk away.

Gail Bergan holds BS and MS degrees in geology from the University of North Dakota and the University of Texas at Arlington, respectively. She began her career in the oil and gas industry in Dallas and Houston, Texas. After 10 years, she pivoted to her true calling: writing and editing. Gail started her own business as a technical writer/editor and desktop publisher, and remained self-employed for the next 30 years, living in Houston and Rockport, Texas. She currently resides in Spokane, Washington.

In 2021, Gail started the blog "Gail's Story" where she enjoys posting creative nonfiction essays and book reviews. In 2024, one of these essays was chosen for the "Journey Into Time" anthology, published by the Houston Writers Guild. "Art and Artifice" is her first memoir. Her current project is the essay collection "Gail Versus the Raccoons (and the Raccoons Won)." You can follow Gail on her "Gail's Story" blog (www.gailsstory.com).