Ana Cristina Eriksson: Fifty & Free – A Journey to Emotional Freedom

At 51, Ana Cristina Eriksson is living a life she once thought impossible — one rooted in self-worth, peace, and purpose. Born in São Paulo and now based in Stockholm, this Brazilian writer and aspiring speaker has turned decades of emotional struggle into a mission to empower women. After breaking free from toxic relationships and patterns of emotional dependency, Ana Cristina began a powerful process of reinvention that blends courage, healing, and the wisdom of lived experience. Her story is not just about starting over — it’s about becoming the woman she was always meant to be.

You have lived in São Paulo and Stockholm, how has navigating these two cultures influenced your personal growth and life perspective?

São Paulo taught me to live with rhythm, resilience, and flexibility. A vibrant city, full of movement, demanding agility and constant presence. It was in this environment that I faced the first challenges of adulthood. I became a mother at 15, I became the mother of Ariane — with all the love that only a mother can feel, even though I was just a teenager.  I grew up amid urgents, responsibilities and intense learning.

At 39, my life took a different path: I married and moved to Stockholm. This decision brought valuable opportunities, including the chance to be present in my granddaughters’ childhood. Being close to their early years, offering affection and presence, was a unique experience that created a deep emotional bond between us.

This new phase also required a great personal reconstruction. Learning Swedish from scratch, adapting to a new culture, and building a new professional and social identity were challenging but essential steps. Stockholm taught me to value silence, introspection, and respect for boundaries. Here, time has a different rhythm, which led me to reflect on priorities, choices, and purpose.

Along the way, I also faced family pains that made me revisit my sense of belonging and strengthen my emotional autonomy. I discovered that even far from family and cultural references, it’s possible to rebuild roots and cultivate a new home,  both within and outside myself.

Professionally, the challenges were many: from language barriers to adapting to the local market. But, like many immigrant and entrepreneurial women, I learned that starting over can be a strength. I found ways to reinvent myself, combining past experiences with new skills and opening space for a new chapter in my life.

Navigating between São Paulo and Stockholm, in such distinct phases,  taught me to move between excess and simplicity, external noise and inner listening. It was in this space between cultures that I rediscovered myself. São Paulo formed me. Stockholm transformed me.

Today, I carry with me the strength of women who restart, who face the new with courage, and who learn, even in the quietest moments, to reinvent themselves.

How did São Paulo’s fast-paced rhythm shape your journey from young motherhood to rebuilding your life through education?

The fast-paced rhythm of São Paulo shaped my life in an intense and defining way. At 14, I became pregnant; at 15, I became a mother and a wife. At 23, I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life: to divorce. I chose not to be another woman counted in the statistics of domestic violence. It was a courageous decision, but not without losses.

Rebuilding my life was a challenging mission. Working during the day, studying at night, and balancing motherhood demanded constant resilience. Although I was always present on weekends and did my best to maintain the bond during my studies, I was judged and punished for my choice— even later, when we lived together. Unfortunately, the words my daughter heard about me gradually undermined the legitimacy of my role as a mother.

This guilt followed me for many years. Today, with maturity and self-awareness, I understand that I did the best I could given the circumstances, and I do this without guilt. I underwent a deep therapeutic process, including neurolinguistic programming, to reconnect with the woman I am and with the genuine love I have always had, even having become a mother as a teenager. This fact, however, does not diminish me as a mother, nor does it prevent me from fulfilling my role with the same dedication as any other mother. Unfortunately, society often uses this stigma to judge, hurt, and delegitimize teenage mothers.

I moved forward, betting on education as a path to rebuilding. I started my studies at Universidade Paulista (UNIP), where I earned a degree in Languages — Portuguese and English. Later, I completed a postgraduate degree in Marketing at Mackenzie University. Studying was much more than a career choice: it was my emotional rescue, my liberation, and the way I found to write a new story—with dignity.

São Paulo taught me to live with rhythm, strength, and presence. Today, I transform my journey into a purpose, inspiring other women to recognize their worth, their voice, and their right to start over, always without guilt.

Your upcoming eBook addresses emotional dependence from your own experience. What was the turning point that led you to break toxic patterns and begin your healing journey?

The turning point happened at 50, when I clearly realized that staying in an abusive relationship meant disconnecting from my own essence. For a long time, I tolerated behaviors that went against my values, constantly trying to rescue something I called love,  but that was actually emotional dependence.

This realization did not come from a single moment but was the result of an internal process that intensified after I moved to Stockholm at 39. Living in another country, learning a new language, adapting to a different culture, and rebuilding my personal and professional path put me face to face with myself, without distractions. The silence and introspection that the city offers were fundamental for me to start reflecting on my emotional patterns more deeply.

Ending that relationship, marked by subtle manipulation, punitive silences, and broken trust, forced me to face realities I had long avoided. I realized that waiting for someone to “save” me was an illusion ,  and that taking responsibility for my emotional well-being was an act of maturity and freedom.

From this awareness, I began my healing journey. Not out of revolt, but by choice. I consciously decided to reclaim my emotional autonomy, strengthen my self-esteem, and rebuild my sense of value, not based on external validation, but on connection with myself.

This process is now the foundation of my work as a writer. I believe that sharing this experience, with honesty and responsibility, can help other women identify their turning points and start their paths of transformation.

How did your experience in marketing and healthcare connect with your interest in human behavior and cognitive science to support your transformation?

My professional journey has always had one central element: a genuine interest in people. In marketing and sales, I developed the ability to observe behavioral patterns, understand deep motivations, and communicate with clarity and empathy. In healthcare, I learned about holistic care not just of the body, but of the mind, with active listening and presence as tools for support.

These experiences naturally intertwined, awakening my interest in human behavior and cognitive science. I began studying more deeply how we build beliefs, how we process emotions, and how our thoughts shape our worldview — and consequently, our choices.

This knowledge was essential for my transformation journey. Understanding the internal mechanisms sustaining certain emotional patterns helped me question them more consciously and replace them with attitudes more aligned with my values and life goals.

Today, this integration between marketing, healthcare, and behavioral sciences allows me to work more strategically and sensitively with other women. I share these tools through writing and projects aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting women to break limiting cycles, expand self-awareness, and reconnect with their inner strength.

I see my path as a bridge between worlds,  the analytical and the human, the technical and the emotional, and I believe it is precisely at this intersection that the most powerful insights for true transformation emerge.

Many women face emotional dependence in silence. What are some subtle signs, and how can they begin to reconnect with their authentic selves?

Emotional dependence rarely announces itself openly , it often appears in subtle gestures and normalized behaviors. Common signs include:

• Constant need for external approval to validate decisions and feelings.
• Difficulty or guilt when setting healthy boundaries.
• Fear of losing the other, even when the relationship no longer offers safety or respect.
• And the quietest of all: forgetting oneself — one’s preferences, dreams, needs, and desires.

To reconnect, it’s necessary to stop. Listen. Return to small pleasures, to writing, nature, and breathing. Authenticity begins in silence, in the courage to be alone and still choose yourself.

You often talk about the importance of “inner work.” What practices or tools were most transformative for you?

Writing was the most powerful. It was my silent scream.

In addition:

• Therapy
• Reading about behavior and spirituality
• Meditation and guided visualizations
• Unsent letters
• Daily affirmations and, above all, the practice of self-observation.

I became the woman I needed when I was a child I learned to love myself, to look at myself in silence and emptiness.

How does the Sally & Emelie project inspire your vision of femininity, legacy, and empowerment?

The Sally & Emelie project was created to inspire a new vision of femininity—one rooted in strength, freedom, and self-love. It aims to transform stories and open paths for girls and young women facing challenges during adolescence, offering hope for a future where everyone grows up with love, respect, and the freedom to be themselves.

Through Sally & Emelie, I want to inspire your vision that every girl has the right to make her own choices, express her feelings openly, and value herself—without ever needing to silence her voice to be loved.

This project is more than a mission; it is a commitment to building a new cycle of support, awareness, and genuine care, empowering future generations to find strength and freedom to pursue their dreams.

Talk about your vision for the project “The Girls – Sally & Emelie.” What inspired you, and what kind of support do you hope to offer to girls facing early pregnancy and emotional challenges?

The project Girls – Sally & Emelie is being carefully developed with a clear intention to become a concrete, structured, and transformative initiative. It was born from a deeply personal place — my own experience as a teenage mother, living in silence, surrounded by guilt and judgment.

In Brazil, the numbers remain alarming: in 2022, about 315 thousand births were recorded from adolescent mothers aged 10 to 19, with approximately 14 thousand girls between 10 and 14 years old (source: Ministry of Health). Although these numbers have dropped in recent years, they remain unacceptably high, and behind every number is a girl carrying more than a child: fear, shame, and interrupted dreams.

My vision is to create a safe and welcoming space where these girls can access emotional education, mentoring, and practical support. I want to show them that it’s possible to live without guilt, fear, or judgment — with dignity, autonomy, and respect for their stories.

The project will initially be implemented in Brazil, where the urgency is evident, and will work in partnership with local institutions and community organizations already supporting vulnerable adolescents.

I am developing each stage responsibly, seeking investors with purpose and social impact partners who share the same commitment to empowering girls and transforming their stories through education and emotional strengthening.

Though it starts in Brazil, the vision is international. Girls – Sally & Emelie aims to reach other regions where girls face early pregnancy, emotional abandonment, and lack of prospects.

This is not just an assistance project — it is a movement to restore hope, dignity, and possibility to girls who often hear that their lives ended before they even began.

With empathy, strategy, and strong alliances, this project intends to help them regain their voice, reconnect with their inner power, and build lives they can be proud of — wherever they are.

As a future speaker, what is the message you most feel called to share with women around the world?

The message that moves me most is simple but profound: You are not weak for having loved too much.

Many women confuse sensitivity with weakness, especially when their stories involve abandonment, betrayal, or abusive relationships. But the true sign of strength is precisely to keep going, even when everything seems to collapse.

My mission is to remind women that pain doesn’t have to be an endpoint; it can be a starting point. Don’t cultivate self-pity. Don’t wait for permission to bloom. Listen to your intuition, set your goals clearly, and every day, choose to love and respect yourself, no matter what.

There is life after abandonment. There is light after chaos. It is possible to transform wounds into strength and your own story into a legacy.

My voice is for those who, even in silence, keep standing,  and who are now ready to take their place with dignity, awareness, and self-love.

How has your journey as an immigrant in Sweden shaped your views on identity, belonging, and personal freedom?

After going through a marriage filled with challenges for six and a half years, I decided to start over from scratch and got divorced in Sweden. And again, after my divorce, I decided to study International Sales and Marketing at the higher vocational school Sälj & Marknadshögskolan for two years during the pandemic, facing many challenges along the way.

Being an immigrant is like being reborn without a manual. I lost a lot when I arrived here, but I gained the rare opportunity to rediscover myself away from the projections that always limited me.

This process required patience and self-awareness, but it also brought the freedom to build my life based on my own choices.

Today, I see that belonging isn’t tied to a physical place, but to the connection I have with myself. I feel that I belong to myself, with peace, autonomy, and a clear understanding of who I am.

Looking to the future, what are your hopes not only for your ebook and speaking career, but also for the women and girls you hope to impact with your story?

I want my ebook to be a gateway to a network of support and transformation. I want my future talks to make women cry, from relief, from identification, from empowerment. And I want every girl who feels invisible to know that someone like her managed to turn the page.

My greatest wish is this: that no woman has to bleed in silence in order to find herself.