Between Earth and Sky - by Jo Confino (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A transformative 100-day exploration through the seemingly desolate lands of Mexico's "place of the dead" etches a path of collapse and renewal, documented in poignant, imaginative prose and remarkable macro lens photography.

A visually arresting and contemplative giftable object that pairs luminous, full color macro photography from the stark, mythical deserts of Oaxaca, Mexico with short, reflective prose rooted in mindfulness

After the loss of his career and identity as a New York City journalist, Jo Confino finds himself in pandemic exile in Mitla, Mexico--the "place of the dead"--where the silence of the landscape becomes the canvas for a radical unlearning. The book that emerged, compact and aesthetic, is a tactile, treasured companion for personal reflection or ritual space.

Inspired by the Engaged Zen teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the tradition of mindfulness, these reverent pages invite the reader to slow down, look deeply, and encounter impermanence, interconnection, and endless mystery. The spritiual arc--from disintegration to insight and renewal--the author discovers offers a map through global disruption and toward rootedness in unfamiliar places.

Tracing 100 days of unexpected lockdown, Between Earth and Sky folds together memoir, photographic meditation, and spiritual inquiry to create a fresh, poetic take on ecological awareness and spiritual resilience in a time of crisis that speaks to anyone who's ever been brought to their knees by change and found something sacred in the dust.

Review Quotes

"The writing and photography that emerged from Jo Confino's one hundred days of quiet reflection carry a lived-in clarity--the sensitivity of someone who has sat with both collapse and renewal and was able to touch what his teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, calls the 'ultimate dimension.' These pages open a subtle threshold into a deeper way of seeing. To read these pages and linger with these images is to be drawn into a meditation."
--Chris Levine, artist and photographer of the Lightness of Being portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

About the Author

Jo Confino is a leadership coach, spiritual mentor, facilitator, journalist, author, and sustainability expert. He works at the intersection of personal transformation and systems change and his coaching practice focuses on supporting leaders within the fields of climate, biodiversity and social justice. As a journalist for more than forty years, he was executive editor as well as Impact, Innovation, and Editorial Director of What's Working at the HuffPost in NewYork. Before joining HuffPost, he was an executive editor of The Guardian, helping to create the environment, sustainable business, and global development websites as well as being responsible for ensuring the media organization lived its own values. A mindfulness advocate, Jo has worked closely with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and his monastic community in southwestern France for nearly twenty years.