a poetry & philosophy

for the world we're in

published 2025

You already know something's deeply wrong - not just with you, but with everything. The personal development books taught you to optimize yourself for a dying system. The wellness industry sold you self-care while the world burns.

This book carries forward a philosophy that knows: your crisis and the collective crisis are the same wound. Your transformation and our collective healing are the same movement.

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What you should know

about this book:

It's meant to be lived with.

Short, luminous passages. Read in order, or revisited as practice. Open anywhere. Begin.

It returns to what's been lost.

Most modern spirituality draws from the East, the North, the West. But humanity emerged in Southern Africa — and there, people developed rich spiritual traditions passed down for generations, with much to teach today's world.

That's the piece that's been missing. This book doesn't miss it.

It refuses to stop at the self.

From the nature of mind and spirit to the ecology of relationship. From justice and repair to desire and intimacy. From existential despair to genuine transcendence.

Spirituality that ignores history is incomplete. This goes deeper.

This book is for you if:

You've felt the longing at the edge of the forced smile. The deeper truth that seems just out of reach, on the other side of the feeling that this can't be all there is.

If you care as much about what happens to our shared home as you do your own body. If you've wondered why so much of spirituality seems to ignore the world as it actually is.

If you're reading this and it resonates — you're here at the beginning.

  • "Perfect to start the morning off by grounding myself through a couple of chapters. Each page carries the weight of depth, yet it feels like a gentle guide rather than a prescription... this book is the perfect companion."

    rose

  • "A great read and reread... it's honestly so freeing. Reads like poetry, definitely makes you think."

    Hayden

  • "If you’re looking for something honest, reflective, and inspiring—not just for yourself but for how you show up for others, Returning to Center is a gift. "

    Jan

  • "The world needs this book, right now especially. Magical read that helps you embrace a new, whole, healing perspective. "

    Katy

  • "This book is such a gift. Thank you for the poetic inspiration and guidance to spirituality."

    Mia

  • "...an urgent, vital read that will inspire you through good times and sustain you through uncertain ones. I am grateful to have come across it, and it will forever have a special place on my bookshelf."

    Sabrina

  • "Unlike most self-growth books I’ve come across, this one doesn’t examine personal growth in isolation. The perspective offered is vast, yet deeply intimate— a rare balance that feels both expansive and grounding."

    P Chiang

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For readers of Braiding Sweetgrass and The Prophet.

Returning to Center offers a completely different framework for being alive — helping you remember what matters, and going from there.

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about the author

In an era where meaning is hard to come by, Pedro Tofua offers something more.

His work is rooted in the ancient, living philosophies of southern Africa, bringing forward frameworks that connect personal transformation with collective healing.

His first book, Returning to Center: passages for reconnecting with the spirit, changing the world, and becoming who you're meant to be, is out now.

Returning to Center

passages for reconnecting with the spirit, changing the world, and becoming who you’re meant to be

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