ABOUT
MARISA AZEVEDO
Until August 2021…
Author, podcaster, blogger, mom of three, and up until recently, a divorce coach. You may remember me as Marisa Lupo.
Let me explain the name change. There is BD (Before Divorce 2012) and AD (After Divorce 2013 to present). BD I was in real estate for almost 15 years, a comfortable career that didn't sing to my soul but was familiar, considering my parents were both brokers. Like everything else up until that point, it was the safe choice after graduating with a BS in business.
Life was comfortable, as comfortable as any checklist life can be.
Wanting out of my 19-year relationship with two children in a very opinionated Italian family was the complete opposite of comfortable; it was the ignitor that set my world on fire.
Picking Up The Pieces
My post-divorce story is the kind of story you look back on and wonder how you survived that time in your life. It was a complete and utter shit show.
Because our families knew each other, everyone had something to say about our divorce, about the kind of woman and mother I was, and even fabricated lies to make me the evil villain—I guess every story needs a bad guy.
It's no longer acceptable to stone women who live a life of truth, but words are just as damaging to the touch.
It took me some time to pick myself up off the ground and to find the courage to set my checklist life on fire, to walk away from people and situations that no longer served me, and to, for once in my life, allow my heart to lead the way, with a bit of help from spirit of course ;)
After my dark night in 2012, I knew I needed to get help. In an excerpt from the book Owning Your Choices, Untying the Knots of Divorce and Stepping into My Purpose, Marisa Lupo (BD) —”I realized I needed support. The cage I created for myself didn't have the necessary tools I needed to get out. I sought after counselors and coaches. I found mentors virtually because they were far and few between in my circle. I read books, I went to women's retreats, I created new friendships that supported my journey, I listened to podcasts, and I became a certified coach. I did anything and anything to empower myself, and even when I didn't feel empowered, I let this virtual family that I created hold me up until I could do it alone."
Eventually I opened my heart wide enough to let this man into my life. We married and added a new addition to our beautiful tribe. (Don’t believe the lies people say about who would want a divorced mom with children? Such BS!)
Our relationship healed me in ways I could have never imagined. It wasn't always comfortable. I struggled to unlearn everything I believed a wife and a mother were "supposed to be." Through his love, I embraced the woman I was free to become. He celebrated my wings, and I supported him through his evolution to becoming the man he wanted to be.
And so you have it...
In 2017 my intuition led me to coach divorced moms. I wanted to turn my painful experience into purpose. If I could help just one woman ease the suffering, it would be all worth it for me.
Since my high school Psychology class, I've wanted to help people, so I declared it my major. However, it was a Psyche class freshman year that changed the course of my life. On the first day, the professor gave a very memorable speech. It was something to the effect of, “Many of you are going to switch majors. You're not all cut out to deal with other people's problems.”
Boy, did I let that do a number on me. After I let that little speech sink into my unworthy, fearful ears, I ran for the hills. Unknowingly I made an agreement with myself. The agreement was that I was not going to help anyone out of digesting some college textbooks. What I needed was real-life experience, and boy, did I get exactly what I asked for!!!! (Be careful what you wish for, LOL).
I had no idea what kind of real-life experience awaited me within the next couple of decades. Still, I can tell you this: everything I have been through has made me the strong and victorious woman I am today, and I am genuinely grateful for that.
Anyways, I don't like getting lost in all the labels. Søren Kierkegaard said, "If you name me, you negate me. By giving me a name, a label, you negate all the other things I could possibly be."
At the end of 2021, I decided to walk away from coaching divorced moms. I struggled in making that decision. I felt like a complete failure, like I turned my back on all the women suffering through divorce. My body was paying the price for trying to force a situation that no longer served my highest good.
My heart still wanted to serve, but I knew the conversation needed to be one of a higher frequency, which is what 5 Seeds of Harmony is all about.
Welcome to a higher frequency conversation meant to get us all back into harmony with ourselves, each other, and the entire universe.
