When Alicia Rodriguez traveled to Ecuador to help a friend studying with a shaman, she had no idea how profoundly the decision would change her life. In The Shaman’s Wife: A Mystical Journey of Surrender and Self-Discovery, Alicia describes her journey from divorce and loss to spiritual awakening and her extraordinary relationship that stretched across continents. A successful entrepreneur, Alicia was tired of corporate American life. In Ecuador, she met Napo, a powerful shaman who unlocked for her the transformative power of spirituality and the connection between mind, body, and spirit. As their connection deepened, Alicia witnessed Napo’s remarkable healing abilities and decided to move to Ecuador to be with him. Together, they planned to build a healing center on the coast. But it was not long before Alicia realized she had surrendered her power and agency to Napo, who wielded it as a weapon against her. Meet Alicia:

You are an author, but is it your day job? If not, what does fill your days? I am a multi-passionate entrepreneur. My work includes writing on Substack, sending out my newsletter, essays on Medium, submitting creative writing to online magazines, and working on future books. However, it’s difficult to make a good income solely on writing. Because I have a 25-year career as an executive and leadership coach, I still work with coaching clients. I also run bespoke, curated transformational experiences in the Algarve, where I work one-on-one with clients who engage significant questions that can change their lives. They are often at a threshold or in a life transition or dealing with questions around purpose and meaning. I facilitate their inquiry and engage them in the deeper conversations that only stepping away from their daily routine allows. They return rested, renewed, and ready to engage their lives aligned with what they discover truly matters.

Did you always want to be an author? When I was ten years old, I wrote my first poem. It was called Broomhilda. From that time, I kept a journal where I would write poems and reflect on my life. I still have all my journals from when I was ten years old.

As a child, I would spend hours in my bedroom reading books. My father complained to the teacher that he had given me too much homework because I was reading and wouldn’t go play with the neighborhood kids. The teacher, shocked, told my father that no parent had ever complained that their child read too much. He gave my father his reading list. It was much shorter than the quantity of books I was reading.

My third-grade teacher sent me home with a “D,” saying  I would never be a writer. I told my mother as I cried over my after-school snack. My mother, one of the wisest people I have ever known, asked me a simple question. “Do you believe her?” From the depths of my heart, my response came out, “No, I don’t.” “Then what’s the problem?” she asked. I kept writing.

I already had two published books on self-development that aligned with my coaching work. For years, I had to work to support my family, and I wrote business content. It wasn’t until I released most of my responsibilities and attachments to a business career that I engaged in writing as a career, not just a passion. Earlier, I did not have the luxury of writing from my heart. Now I do.

What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it? My most recent book is a memoir entitled The Shaman’s Wife: A Mystical Journey of Surrender and Self-Discovery. It recounts the years I spent with an Ecuadorian shaman and the lessons I learned. It’s a story of unconsciously relinquishing my power, having him use it against me, and then, the courage and resilience to reclaim my agency. Despite being a confident and strong woman, I, like so many others, fell in love with a narcissist. The story is mine and also belongs to many other women. My deepest desire is that women understand that it is not their fault and that they can courageously reclaim their selfhood and turn trauma into wisdom.

What are you most excited about with this book? I’m excited that the story will help others, especially women, reclaim their feminine power. So far, the feedback I have received is positive, with women writing to me and sharing their experiences, often for the first time.

How did writing a book help your career take off? That remains to be seen!

What advice would you give someone wanting to succeed in your professional industry? Don’t give up. Keep trying things; if the conventional paths don’t work, try the unconventional path. Understand your “Why?” Why do you write? Who do you want to affect? What’s in it for you, emotionally, financially, career-wise? Set goals, write a plan, and enlist your advocates and fans. And don’t listen to negativity (feedback is helpful; criticism is not.)

How do you handle setbacks and criticism? When I experience a setback, I find ways to recalibrate what I’m doing to move into alignment with how I want to live and work and with the goals I want to achieve. When someone criticizes me or my work, my attitude is that everyone has a right to their opinion. My happiness and choices are no longer dictated by what others say. I take what I can learn from it and leave the rest.

Being an author today is like running a business. How do you manage all your publicity, social media and keep your engagement up with readers? How I manage everything is with help! I learned from years of entrepreneurship that I couldn’t do everything and should only focus on the big picture and what I do well. I hire others who do tasks better than I do. I like to post on social media but limit my time there. I prefer quality over quantity.

How do you hold yourself accountable and achieve the goals that you set forth? I hold myself accountable with lists! I am very organized despite not being naturally inclined that way. It serves me well. I also believe in systemitzing and repurposing everything so I can enjoy my free time and have the time to write.

How do you structure your day and make time for writing? First, I start almost every day with my dog on a long walk on the cliffs overlooking the ocean in the Algarve where I live. It sets my day. It’s a form of meditation. During that time I find my mind opens to insights and even the beginning of a poem or essay.

I am a binge-writer. I write every day but not on a schedule. I write when I’m moved to write. If I am working on a project, a book, or an article, I schedule large blocks of time, even days, to focus on these. I use the Notes function on my phone to capture thoughts, ideas, and reflections that eventually become essays or articles.

What do you find most fulfilling in the career that you’ve chosen? It’s taken me a long time to claim the writer mantle. What I find most fulfilling is that my writing positively affects others. It addresses how we make meaning and find purpose. Selfishly, what I find fulfilling is the flexibility to live wherever I choose (right now, it’s the Algarve in Portugal) and to include activities that give me a sense of freedom and peace.

What book uplifts you? The first book I think of is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. I felt I had been seen and that my dance with creativity was a spiritual process. That resonated with the way I view myself and my life. Her writing was inspirational and affirming.

Anything else you’d like to share with your readers? My latest book is the first time I wrote a memoir. I underestimated the emotional toll it would take to relive difficult episodes and revisit painful memories. To write a memoir, you must be willing to break open again. To feel all the feels, to write so your reader is hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling everything you did, so the story becomes alive for them too. You have to avoid making it all about you and extract universal truths from your story that apply to your readers. You balance your narrative with what’s in it for the reader.

It was far more challenging than I expected. If you write a memoir, be sure to have a support system. For example, to write the most painful chapters of The Shaman’s Wife, I stayed at a retreat center owned by a friend where I knew I would be cared for. I don’t think I could’ve written those chapters as well, as vividly, and still maintained my wellness, if I had not had that support. Ask for help, either from a friend, therapist, or coach. You owe your readers the truth, and you owe yourself the support to tell that truth.

Connect with Alicia and learn all about her and her new book via her website.