Joanna Macy portrait photograph

Joanna Macy (1929-2025) was a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. Born in Los Angeles, she earned her PhD and spent five decades developing the Work That Reconnects, a group methodology for addressing ecological grief and cultivating engagement.

Macy studied at Wellesley College and conducted doctoral research on systems theory and Buddhist philosophy. Her academic work explored connections between Buddhist concepts of dependent co-arising and contemporary systems thinking. In the late 1970s, she began developing what she initially called “Despair and Empowerment Work,” proposing that people needed structured ways to acknowledge grief about ecological and social conditions.

This evolved into the Work That Reconnects, a methodology drawing from deep ecology, systems theory, Buddhist teachings, and indigenous wisdom. The process follows a spiral of gratitude, honoring pain, seeing with new eyes, and going forth. Macy proposed the concept of the Great Turning - a shift from industrial growth society to life-sustaining civilization - and developed the notion of Deep Time, which connects present action with ancestors and future generations.

She co-created the Council of All Beings with John Seed, Arne Naess, and Pat Fleming in the 1980s. These group practices invited participants to speak from the perspective of other species and ecosystems. Her book Thinking Like a Mountain (1988), written with Seed, Fleming, and Naess, became a foundational text in deep ecology practice.

Macy also translated Rilke’s poetry to English with Anita Barrows. Her books include World as Lover, World as Self (1991), which examined Buddhist and systems perspectives on ecology, and Active Hope (2012, with Chris Johnstone), which distinguished active hope from passive optimism. She taught at institutions including the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Starr King School for the Ministry.

She died in July 2025. The Work That Reconnects continues through a global network of facilitators and the Joanna Macy Center at Naropa University.

Key Concepts

Essential Works

  1. Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age (New Society Publishers, 1983) - ISBN 978-0-86571-029-3
  2. Thinking Like a Mountain (New Society Publishers, 1988) - ISBN 978-0-86571-133-7 - With John Seed, Pat Fleming, and Arne Naess
  3. World as Lover, World as Self (Parallax Press, 1991; revised 2007) - ISBN 978-1-888375-76-1
  4. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy (New World Library, 2012) - ISBN 978-1-57731-972-1 - With Chris Johnstone
  5. Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects (New Society Publishers, 2014) - ISBN 978-0-86571-774-2 - With Molly Young Brown

Quotes from Joanna Macy

Further Reading

Biographical Sources

Key Books

Network & Resources