by Lauretta and Sharon Gavin (UK)
Along with my sister, I am the owner of The Detox Barn retreat in Suffolk. This concept was never part of the game plan. I was never meant to be a clean eating, total plant -based, positive thinking, annoying arsehole. In fac,t my sister and I have become the sort of people ten years ago we would have despised. We would have grilled us for not drinking, judged us for being overly disciplined and been slightly disturbed by our passion for health. ‘Jesus there is more to life?’, ‘I’d rather not live than not have Chinese take way with a bottle of wine or two?’, ‘It’s too much all their juicing?’, ‘Too happy, I don’t trust them – something not quite right about them’. Thoughts like these would have been flooding my mind if I would come across our website ten years ago.
Success then would have been our own TV show. We spent years as a comedy double act writing shows, plays, sitcoms. Successful to a point, but we never made it big. We weren’t Catherine Tate or Sharon Horgan and we wanted to be, desperately. Because we loved what we did. Simply doing it was never enough, I will be honest with you, we wanted the acclaim, we wanted to be paid for it so we did not have to do the shitty mindless ‘beneath us’ jobs.
All that changed eight years ago when our lives turned into the kind of story you read about in trashy magazines (thankful it’s not you). I was left by my husband at six months pregnant for the cliched younger woman, my sister Sharon got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, which left her covered in a chronic rash and at time wheelchair bound and our mum got diagnosed with breast cancer. Everything happened within a short succession, and it shook us to our very core. It changed how we looked at life and bullied me into making a plan to move forward. I went into Survival Mode! I knew one thing; I did not want to be a bitter, cynical cow riddled with cynicism with how my life was turning out. I wanted to be an inspiration to my daughter, despite what was happening. I wanted to be strong for my Mum so she could get through chemo and more than anything I wanted my sister better.
My mum got through cancer, I had my baby girl and went through a divorce but my sister was still sick and so began the transformation. We decided we would do everything to get her better. Number one was stressed, so after a very toxic marriage, she left her husband and moved in with me. Two single mums living together with our two little children. Not conventional, but we did get on in a way that could inspire an extremely nauseating Disney movie. We are blessed with being siblings that really like each other, inspire each other and make each other belly laugh..I know pass the sick bucket.
Source: iCN Issue 34 (Leadership Coaching); pages 75-76
About the Authors
Founders of The Detox Barn
Lauretta and Sharon Gavin are sisters who alongside their highly acclaimed comedy double act, have a passion for healthy plant-based food – without being hippy dippy tree huggers! They are passionate about others finding their mojo too. So, in 2018 they set up The Detox Barn; a monthly yoga retreat with their homemade vegan food to inspire others. Set in the Suffolk countryside with open fires and idyllic country walks, this is the perfect place to get away from the demands of everyday living. The Detox Barn has been a huge success achieving five-star critically acclaimed reviews across the board. It has been featured in Good Housekeeping, Psychologies Magazine, The Evening Standard The Guardian & Metro.
Insta @thedetoxbarn
Fb @thedetoxbarn
Podcast From Illness to Wellness
