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 of Rites of Passage.

What is it really? Why does it exist? What does it have to do with restoring our connection to nature?
I’ve boiled it down to having an awareness around and relationship with death.

Here is a quote from Andy Fisher from his book, “Radical Ecopsychology”: “To undergo a symbolic death and rebirth takes the sting out of one’s literal death. It even gives it a positive value, for one realizes that death is merely the end of a mode of being, a stage in the transformation of all things.” This is a photo of a Laysan Albatross chick from Kure Atoll where I worked as a habitat restorationist. This chick is nearly ready to spread its wings and take off in flight for the first time. This is an example of a rites of passage in nature, a creature that is transforming from one mode of being – a chick bound to the island, to another – a fledgling able to fly. How do you see transformation existing in your life?
#returntopo #memoir #ritesofpassage #death #transformation #hawaii #writing #bookwriting #albatross #papahanaumokuakea