RETURN TO PŌ
by Jon-Erik Jardine
“Jardine’s outward – inward journey of discovery melds the subtlety and grandeur of Hawaii’s natural-cultural history with poignant personal turns and touchstones. Like the landscape where it unfolds, Return to Po powerfully and gently both reveals and connects author and reader in a deep and respectful story blending place, self, and other. Highly recommended, it will carry your heart to the oceans, the summits, and back.” Gene Myers, Ph.D., Author of Conservation Psychology
“In Return to Pō, Jon-Erik Jardine takes us though a very personal journey of loss and discovery in the Hawaiian wilderness. His satisfying essays explore the conflicting emotions of life, death, remote wildlife encounters, and intimate natural dioramas. Highly recommended.” – Alejandro Grajal, Ph.D., President and CEO Woodland Park Zoo.
Audiobook Now Available!
The Audiobook version of Return to Pō is now available for purchase on Amazon, Audible, and Itunes! Narrated by Jon-Erik Jardine, the author.
New Conversation with Brandon
Imposters Anonymous, The Podcast Brandon welcomed me onto his podcast to talk about the “Nature of Identity”. We discuss the importance of having a relationship with a world outside of a human context and how that affects our own orientation to the world around us, human or otherwise. We talk about: the discrete value of…
New Conversation with Christopher Le Coq
Nature Cycles, The Podcast Christopher invited me on his podcast to speak about my book and to talk about the importance of death in the cycle of nature, why we all need to lean into our relationship with the dark, and how it can benefit our whole wellness, connection to the each other, ourselves, and…
The Time Lapse
I received 225 of my first copies of Return to Pō in paperback. It’s been a hectic week trying to wrap up work projects before the holidays… while also fitting in some running and skiing on the weekend. I started on Monday, signing each copy and get them read to ship out. These copies are…
Halemaʻumaʻu, Kilaeua, Hawaiʻi Erupts on Winter Solstice
The Halemaʻumaʻu crater in the Kilauea caldera erupted today on the winter solstice. On the shortest day of the year, when darkness prevails in the realm of Pō, fire burst forth and illuminated the heavens and much of Hawaiʻi, Moku Ō Keawe. To commemorate this magical event, here is a passage from Return to Pō…
Return to Pō is now available in paperback
The time has come! Order yours now and it might come before Christmas! Purchase now
Answering the Call: Chapter 1 Preview
A preview for Return to Pō, Chapter 1: Answering the Call. We can’t predict the future, but we can observe patterns and be prepared for the unknown. When my younger brother died, I had already cultivated a deep relationship with #death. It didn’t make it easier, but I was able to welcome the pain in…
Return to Pō is live! Kindle ebook version
I am very excited to announce that Return to Pō is now available for purchase. You can get your copy of Return to Pō, ebook, for only $.99 on Amazon! This price is only available for the next 30 days. link below:
Coaches on the Run Podcast Available: In a Collective World Between Worlds
Check out the latest episode of Coaches on the Run, a podcast hosted by Alyssa Clark and Dr. Alyx Barnett, two prominent ultra runners and endurance athletes. We talk about my upcoming book that will be published this Wednesday on December 9th. As a runner, we discuss all things running in the style I like…
Adventure, Nature & The Pursuit of the Unknown – Awaiting Return to Pō
“Return to Pō is my own personal journey of arriving at the source of life, the threshold of consciousness,” says JE of the leap he took into this relationship with Pō. “It is a call to ring the resonance of remembrance of who and what we are – that our well-being is intrinsically married to…
Kure Atoll makes National News
Just over a week ago, the 4-person crew working on Kure Atoll returned from their isolated stay. Every time a crew ventures out to the atoll, the world seems to change slightly upon their return. This time, a pandemic erupted across the globe, touching every nation and settlement. Except Kure Atoll. This year’s summer crew,…
Fundraiser For Publication
8 more days!! I have been raising funds in order to get my book published. Check out the video to learn about updated goal of $8,000 and becoming part of the Beta Reader Community for Return to Pō, publication in December 2020! And don’t forget to preorder your copy today!
25,000 Words and Counting!
Hello Everyone! The progress of my book has been going really well. As of today I have surpassed 25,000 words! As many of you know, I am a big believer in Rites of Passage as a key element in developing healthy and mature adults in our society. I am trying to get at the core…
“Jon Erik Jardine is a writer in a long tradition of American seekers: an explorer of the world, of the mind and body, and most importantly, of the sublime wilderness of the self. Return to Pō asks us to investigate a universal ache together, an ache for home and connection, for those we have lost, for a different kind of future.
These essays are struck through with consternation, but they come off warmly, as if Jon-Erik wants to carefully welcome us into the realms of the dead. He holds our hand through the cutting beauty of nature and reminds us of the simple wonder that our lives always offer, no matter what cultural forces are asking us to forget.
What I respect most is the deftness of Jon-Erik’s curiosity; he is unafraid to face the most unanswerable of our human questions from all angles, not minding that the answers may never come. Still, he is dedicated to joy—to loving and understanding the mystery of this world, and his work lives sincerely in the journey it takes.” – Chelsey Weber-Smith, Creator, Producer, and Host American Hysteria Podcast
“It is through the examination of the world around us that we discover ourselves––and it is a gift to receive Jon-Erik Jardine’s cathartic explorations of life, death, grief and the earth. Jardine reminds us that the deeper we journey out into the world, the closer we become to the intimacy of self.
It is impossible to read these stories without creating parallel space to fill with your own. What is home? What is humanity? Who are we, and why? Throughout each chapter of this book reader and writer trade questions and answers––never quite reaching a conclusion, but that was never the point. Beauty, pain, life, loss, nature and nurture are on the menu for readers with an appetite for introspection. In Chapter four, Jon-Erik asks, “Were all things that existed sacred, because they existed?” –– and my answer, “yes,” provided the initiation of my own navigation through the internal, the external, and the sacred ceremony of their convergence.” – Katie Bou, Founder, Outdoor Advocacy
Photo by Matthew Chauvin Photography
Return to Pō 