Hi, I’m Lisanne, the founder of Unravel Mama. My journey began over a decade ago when I made a bold decision to completely change the course of my life. What started as a period of soul-searching and travel eventually led me to Ericeira, Portugal—a place that felt like home from the moment I arrived. After becoming a mama myself in 2022, I dreamed of a retreat like this and decided to create it.

I never expected to settle here, yet everything seemed to align effortlessly. The ocean, the peaceful countryside, and the vibrant energy of this little fishing village made me feel like I was exactly where I was meant to be. Even now, after 9 years of living here, I can step outside and breathe in the salty air with the Atlantic stretching before me, and having to pinch myself. How did I get here? Looking back, I wonder where I found the courage to leave everything behind and follow my heart.

“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.” – Brene brown

Up until 9 years ago, at the age of 28 my life was happening in Amsterdam, I had a nice home, a good relationship, a career in a creative start up – all that I needed, right? I started to feel that I was missing something, something profound and deep, I couldn’t put words to it but felt a missing deeper meaning. I tried to ignore that voice, kept on playing the game as I had always done, but after awhile, from one day to the other, I burned out. Emotional discomfort turned into physical discomfort when I didn’t listen to my heart speaking up to me. I remember all the sensations in my body so clearly, feeling my heartbeat so loud and my breath so shallow, it was suddenly hard to breath normally. Just a complete state of panic within me, all the time.