Gina Economopoulos didn't plan to become an author or an end-of-life doula—these callings found her through a lifetime of struggle, surrender, and eventual transformation. Born into a large Italian-Greek family on Long Island as one of eight children, Gina's early years were marked by physical limitations that left her comparing herself unfavorably to siblings and feeling like "the black cloud" of an otherwise loving home. Despite growing up surrounded by unconditional love and the warmth of New York hospitality (contrary to popular stereotypes), young Gina struggled with self-acceptance.
Everything changed when her mother died from cancer when Gina was just 23. Having no personal spiritual foundation—she describes her parents as having been "her God"—this loss sent her spiraling into a decades-long search for meaning. Her journey took remarkable turns: becoming a Catholic nun seeking peace within convent walls, returning to civilian life as a bartender, falling in love with an alcoholic who later died from the disease, and finally confronting her own alcoholism after hitting what she calls her "dark pit" of complete surrender.
The most powerful revelation in Gina's story isn't just her ten years of sobriety, but how her personal healing transformed naturally into a calling to help others. Now working as an end-of-life doula, she brings presence and peace to those transitioning from life—offering what she herself lacked when watching her mother die: faith, hope, and spiritual support. Her understanding of forgiveness as a choice that frees the forgiver rather than the forgiven demonstrates the depth of her spiritual evolution, including her process of forgiving God himself for what she once perceived as abandonment.
Through her memoir "Shake the Dust Off Your Feet," Gina offers hope to anyone walking through addiction, grief, or spiritual disillusionment. Her message is clear: sometimes our deepest pain becomes our most profound purpose, and the very experiences that break us can ultimately become the foundation for helping others heal. Download the first chapter free at ginaecon.com and discover how surrendering to what seems like darkness can sometimes be the first step toward an unexpected light.

Visit www.ginaecon.com to download the free first chapter of Gina's memoir "Shake the Dust Off Your Feet and Walk: Faith, Sobriety, Self-Discovery and Healing."
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