Empowering and told from a unique perspective, this globe-spanning memoir of self-discovery and sacrifice has a singular, resounding message for its audience: love is boundless, but it must begin with nurturing oneself. When Alicia Rodriguez, a successful entrepreneur recovering from divorce and loss, accepts an invitation to Ecuador to help a friend who is studying with a shaman, she has no idea how profoundly the decision will change her life’s course. In Ecuador Alicia meets Napo, a powerful shaman, and they begin an extraordinary relationship that spans two continents and eight years. As their connection deepens, Alicia learns the principles of shamanism and witnesses Napo’s remarkable healing abilities. Confronted with the illusion of her life in the United States, she decides to move to Ecuador to be with him, and they make plans to build a healing center together on the coast. Within a short time, however, she realizes that she has surrendered her power and agency to Napo, who now wields it as a weapon against her. After years of inner struggle, Alicia finally finds the courage to leave Ecuador and moves to Portugal, where she finds peace . . . until an unexpected phone call rekindles old memories. An extraordinary memoir steeped in spirituality, shamanism, and metaphysics, The Shaman’s Wife is the story of a woman who, through a daring journey of self-discovery, reclaims and embraces her feminine wisdom—and realizes that love is the answer to her lifelong spiritual quest. 2024 International Book Awards Winner in Nonfiction: Narrative 2024 International Impact Book Awards Winner in Inspirational "A sometimes-harrowing story of spirituality, trust, and a search for identity." —Kirkus Reviews “An inherently fascinating memoir of a live lived out in an extraordinary manner . . .” —Midwest Book Review “With vivid imagery and lush prose, Alicia delivers us to her fascinating life in Ecuador and, in her deft weaving of her tale, causes us to simultaneously fall in love with her shaman, empathize with his suffering, and fear him. These are deep insights into the mystical world from someone with the consciousness to understand the magic behind the tapestry.” —Gina Hayden, author of Becoming a Conscious Leader “In The Shaman’s Wife , author Alicia Rodriguez embodies the essence of authenticity. Her inspiring journey resonates with those at life’s crossroads, guiding them towards the heroic path of integrity and wholeness. Join her in the pursuit of a life well lived.” —Michael Lee, MA C-IAYT, founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and author of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: A Bridge from Body to Soul “Too often we give away our power in one small surrender after another. The hard-won wisdom Alicia has poured into these pages—with authenticity and insight—will help you reclaim your power, reconnect to your courage, and use it to make the changes that tug most on your heart.” —Dr. Margie Warrell, author of You’ve Got This!: The Life-Changing Power of Trusting Yourself Somewhere it's written that you will do things, meet people, and go places you never thought you would, and dive headfirst into the murky waters of the unknown. In some liminal space, choices are not made, roads are not taken, and a reality you once dreamed was yours now only exists as a regret for what might've been. Life has you choose between door number one, door number two, and door number three, barking out the numbers like a talk show host. The crowd screams, "Pick one! Pick two! Pick three!" Finally, you muster the courage and pick your door while believing you control that choice. The door swings open, and no, it's not a cruise; it's a kayak on the Chesapeake Bay.   You learn to love your choices.   A simple decision made on a whim becomes a life-changing encounter with an unseen world that takes me into a life that feels both alien and familiar. Love arrives like a shooting star across the heavens—brilliant, unexpected, pointing me toward the uncharted territory of the universe. I'm drawn by destiny to a land steeped in mystery and spirituality, where the ancestors are guides and sacred truths spring from the crystalline rivers, the snowcapped mountains, and the vast expanse of the ocean. An ancient ceremony amid ancestral ruins on top of a grass-covered pyramid offers the promise of eternal love from the Andean shaman who later becomes my husband. Without money or a plan, I find a sacred space on a fallow hillside, a seed planted in the dirt that dares life to emerge. The ongoing conversation between the mountain and ocean speaks to a secret portal to other dimensions. This battleground of spiritual warfare coexists with sacred rituals that dare me to cross to the other side and meet myself, shadow and light enmeshed, while I cautiously learn to dance between the spiritual and secular worlds.   Priests, shamans, artists, healers, writers, poets, adventurers, and rebels have all left their mark on me. I have discove