Angelina with her black bob and gold dragon necklace in a carved chair in a gothic castle room

A memoir series

I Am
Angelina

A life across borders.
A voice reclaimed.

Born and raised in Brazil, Angelina leaves her homeland for Portugal in search of a better future for her children. Her journey takes her across Europe as she searches for security, belonging and a life she can call her own.

Begin with Book One ↓Explore her journey ↓

In Elisângela’s words

Who is
Angelina?

Listen to the introduction

Who is Angelina? · English · 1:28

Read along in Elisângela’s words.

People often ask me one question.

Who is Angelina?

My name is Elisângela.

Every memory in this book belongs to me. Every place, every person, every joy, every mistake and every scar are part of my life.

So why is this series called I Am Angelina?

Because some stories take years to find their voice.

Angelina is not another woman.

She is not a fictional character.

She is the strength I discovered when survival demanded more than fear could allow.

She is the woman who found the courage to revisit the hardest chapters of my life so they would never have to remain hidden.

These pages tell my story as I remember it.

Every memory belongs to Elisângela.

But only Angelina could tell the story.

Thank you for continuing this journey with me.

Elisângela Bearigo

Elisângela Bearigo & Daniel Bearigo

Before the journey,
there was a girl.

Her story begins on a farm in Brazil. Martial arts, early motherhood and the fierce desire to make a future for her children shape the young woman who will eventually leave for Europe.

Across three books, Elisângela recalls a life that takes her from Brazil to Portugal, Spain and northern Europe, and the relationships, departures and moments of uncertainty along the way. Friendship and beauty sit alongside danger and control; spiritual experiences remain part of how she remembers and understands her journey.

Told from memory, with changed names and dialogue reconstructed from recollection.

Young Angelina beside her father on a Brazilian farm

Brazil · Her roots

The ground she came from.

Family, animals and the rhythms of rural life form the beginning of a much larger journey.

Young Angelina training with an older teenage boy

Discipline · Determination

Learning to stand her ground.

A young girl faces older boys in training. Her determination begins long before she leaves Brazil.

Angelina cries beside her suitcase, surrounded by family photographs on the bed

Motherhood · Departure

What leaving asks of you.

Leaving Brazil for Portugal means seeking a better future for her children while carrying the ache of home and everything left behind.

Angelina and Gabriela talking at a Lisbon café

Lisbon · Friendship

A city. A friendship. A way forward.

Newly arrived in Portugal, Angelina begins to find her feet in Lisbon. Friendship brings laughter, understanding and moments of relief in an unfamiliar country.

Angelina at the entrance to an evening lounge in Marbella

Marbella · Reinvention

Behind the evening lights.

Work and reinvention open doors. What lies beyond them is harder to read.

Angelina with her Cleopatra bob beside a grand piano

King Cobra · Beauty and control

The price of belonging.

The security she longs for becomes tangled with power, responsibility and fear.

Northern Lights · Rebuilding

Room to imagine another life.

Friendships, study, design and the natural world offer new ways to begin again.

“We are eagles, taught to believe we are chickens.”

I Am Angelina

Pablo O’Rtega · Music from I Am Angelina

La Caída

Another way to feel her story.

A song for I Am Angelina. Listen to the preview, then follow the release to hear the full track.

Listen · 0:49 preview

Listen in full

Explore Bearigo Music

BEARIGO · Music from I Am Angelina

The Order

Available now

From the shadows, we rise.

A gothic, atmospheric song about rising, inspired by I Am Angelina. Listen to the preview, then hear the full release.

Listen · 1:01 preview

Listen in full

Explore Bearigo Music

Three books · One continuing life

Read her story.
Hear her voice on the page.

Start with The Beginning and follow the memoir in order.

I Am Angelina · Book 1

The Beginning

From her childhood on a Brazilian farm to early motherhood and the decision to leave Brazil for Portugal, Angelina takes her first steps into a new life in Europe, whose possibilities—and dangers—she cannot yet know.

By Elisângela Bearigo & Daniel Bearigo

Ebook

English · EPUB download

€4.49

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Audiobook

English · M4B download

€14.99

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Paperback

Amazon US

US $9.99

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The audiobook edition

Experience The Beginning in audio.

Listen to the opening chapter below.

The Beginning · Chapter One

Farm Life — The Early Years

Read the complete opening chapter.

Read Chapter One

Listen to Chapter One

Farm Life — The Early Years

English · 14:46

Press play to listen, or read along in the chapter reader.

I Am Angelina · Book 2