Alicia, a Latina writer and executive coach originally from the United States, did not leave to escape or chase a fantasy. She left because the life she had built, successful on the surface, no longer felt aligned with who she truly was.

Today, Alicia lives in the Algarve, in the small coastal town of Carvoeiro. She writes. She coaches. She leads carefully curated retreats for women navigating burnout and personal transitions. But the version of herself she has become only emerged after letting go of everything she thought she needed to hold onto.

When the outside world no longer reflects the Inside

Alicia’s life in the United States looked, to most people, like the definition of success. Her coaching business was thriving, she had financial security, and her professional reputation was well established. But beneath that outward image was a growing discontent - an unease that the roles she was playing had become disconnected from her own inner reality.

She recognised that she was supporting others through transformation while resisting the changes she needed to make in her own life. There was no dramatic collapse, no crisis point. Just a persistent feeling that something important had been lost. And when that kind of knowing arrives, it rarely goes away.

Ecuador wasn’t a break. It was the breaking point.

She followed that internal nudge to Ecuador, drawn by both intuition and ancestral connection. The move was not about retreat or escape but about immersion - a willingness to step fully into the unknown and mystical. A meeting with a shaman in Quito quickly turned into a commitment to live and work alongside him, with plans to create a healing retreat centre on the coast.

What followed was a profound unraveling. The relationship became increasingly controlling, the isolation intense. Alicia found herself stripped of all the usual markers of identity - no job title, no clients, no external validation. In that vacuum, she was forced to confront herself fully.

During that time, she began writing what would become her memoir, The Shaman’s Wife. The book is not a romanticised version of life abroad. It is a deeply honest account of personal loss, spiritual confrontation, and the slow reclaiming of agency. Writing became both catharsis and anchor, a way to document not just what had happened, but what it had revealed.

Ecuador did not give her clarity right away. It gave her silence. And in that silence, she began to understand the difference between surrendering and being erased. When she left, it was not to run away. It was a conscious choice to begin again, this time without abandoning herself.

Portugal for reinvention, not retirement

After leaving Ecuador, Alicia knew she could not return to her previous life. She wanted somewhere that offered balance, beauty, infrastructure, community, and the space to create. She researched Portugal methodically, weighing options, exploring residency requirements, and connecting with others who had made similar moves.

Her first few months were spent in Lisbon, but it was the Algarve that felt right. The scale, pace, and natural surroundings of Carvoeiro offered a kind of quiet support for the life she was ready to build.

Life in Portugal did not mean stepping away from work. It meant doing the work that truly mattered. Alicia now splits her time between writing, coaching, and running transformational retreats designed to help women pause, reflect, and reset. Her retreats are not designed to provide quick fixes or surface-level inspiration. They are small, intentional gatherings that focus on deep listening, honest reflection, and the courage to take the next step. Many of the women who come to her are high-functioning, capable, and exhausted. What they need is not more achievement. They need space to come home to themselves.

Why Portugal works

For Alicia, Portugal offers more than good weather and coastal beauty. It provides the emotional and psychological space to think clearly and live more honestly. Here, she is no longer performing. She is no longer navigating systems that require constant proving. Portugal allows her to live in alignment with her values.

It is not that life here is perfect. It is that it is real. And in that realness, there is room to breathe, to create, and to support others from a place of genuine clarity.

Reinvention is not always dramatic

Alicia’s story is not filled with dramatic turning points or social media declarations. It is a story of consistent, conscious decisions to live more truthfully. Reinvention, for her, was not about changing everything overnight. It was about making space for what truly matters, and having the courage to let go of everything that does not.

She believes, and I would agree, that the real risk is not in walking away from the familiar. It is in staying too long in a life that no longer fits.

For anyone standing at the edge of change, wondering whether the timing is right, Alicia’s journey offers quiet encouragement. You do not need a catastrophe to justify your choice. You do not need everyone to understand it. You simply need to trust the knowing that refuses to go away.

Her story is not just about leaving one place for another. It is about returning to yourself. One step at a time.

Author

Kamila is the Global Correspondent for The Portugal News, writing about reinvention, relocation, slow travel and freedom-focused living. She is the co-founder of WIN Portugal, the country's leading women's network, and the creator of Epic Midlife.


Community Champion | Multi-Award-Winning Entrepreneur | Bestselling Author | Facebook: Epic Midlife | Website: WinPortugal.eu

Kamila Laura Sitwell