Ecuadorian poet and spiritualist Diego Perez are making waves this summer with his second publication, Clarity & Connection, the New York Times Bestseller that was released this past April. In short, this book takes a deep dive into how emotions may accumulate subconsciously, examining how to excavate them, move forward, and grow as a person. It can be read on its own or as a complement to Perez‘s 2017 novel debut, Inward. Perez’s pen name, Yung Pueblo, means ‘young people’—it serves to remind him of his Ecuadorian cultural roots, his passion for activism, and the ever-present room for self-growth that his work so often reminds us of—Clarity & Connection fits right into that ideology. 

The novel is split into five sections: “self-awareness”, “unbinding”, “the love between us”, “growing”, and “a new life”. It opens with a simple, single-stanza poem reminding us that we are all united through emotions and the cycle of life, which Pueblo indicates are both linked as one phenomenon. Then, the introspection begins. 

Pueblo begins “self-awareness” by touching on the importance of intention and time as factors toward self-growth, highlighting how rewarding it is to reach a higher clarity when you’ve been working for it. He reminds us not to rush that process but to embrace every step of the way as it comes and continue to pursue your own clarity at your own pace. Don’t feel discouraged when you fall back into past habits, he says, because awareness of such a mistake is an indicator of growth in itself—it’s the first big step. He dismisses the idea that healing is forgetting, stating that it’s instead acknowledging those past mistakes and understanding that they no longer have power over you. Forgetting, he says, is running away and distracting oneself; the only true way to improve your life’s trajectory is to first seek to improve within. With growth comes healing, he says, and freedom is the final reward; all you have to do is practice patience, persistence, and intentionality. “Self-awareness” ends with a piece about wisdom, which Pueblo says is brought by patience and acceptance of the things you cannot change. Once you have acknowledged your own strengths and weaknesses, you may begin to use them to your advantage and grow toward a higher sense of self.

“Unbinding” begins with a study on time and how it contributes to healing and the opposite. If we do not address what we need to heal, it will remain inside of us and continue to accumulate, weighing us down– you must let go of the things that no longer serve you. Pueblo uses the word ‘disentangle’ to describe the action, which encapsulates the feeling of moving on so potently; you are an accumulation of all of your past experiences, but you are also all of the changes that lie ahead of you. Pueblo urges us not to limit ourselves to only our past experiences, but to look forward and make our future plans a part of who we are. He then examines the emotion of desire and how it can contribute to dissatisfaction, dissuading the reader from giving in to cravings. However, he differentiates between cravings and aspirations; the difference, he says, is the emotional outcome: instant gratification is short-lived, but a personal goal is somewhat of a long-term project. Once again, the motifs of time and patience shine through as two of the most important factors towards self-growth. Pueblo touches upon the feelings that arise from a lack of closure, reminding the reader that time does heal all wounds, but so does determination and the expression of grief itself. Throughout the book, Pueblo continuously reminds us that it’s very okay to be vulnerable and to slip into emotions that are often perceived as weakness. He indicates that in order to rid ourselves of emotions that no longer serve us, we need to feel them at our full capacity and not suppress them.

“The love between us” focuses entirely on relationships. It opens with a reminder that there was no such thing as a perfect relationship, and self-accountability for your own emotions will be the guiding force behind cultivating strong positive relationships. He goes back to the idea of heartbreak, once again expressing the idea that feeling one’s emotions on a full, deep spectrum will eventually cause healing in itself. Pueblo then surprisingly states that one does not need to be entirely healed in order to live a life of fulfillment or to cultivate new relationships. As long as the intentionality is there, so is the wisdom. He encourages the reader to invite people into their lives that may help their healing process, as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial. There is one caveat though, which is to never unload the emotions you’re trying to get rid of onto another person. While positive relationships do foster growth, the only way to process one’s own negative emotions is introspective. Pueblo astutely notes how relationships may crumble under the pressure of unresolved trauma in one or both parties and make a point to discourage such behaviors. Conflict, Pueblo says, is defensiveness. He encourages openness, communication, and once again, vulnerability; positive relationships require all three from both parties. Pueblo lists out characteristics of good relationships, both romantic and platonic. He highlights trust, support, and honesty in both, reminding the reader that they have a responsibility to help their loved ones grow and heal, too. As long as both parties are capable of and willing to listen, check-in with their own selves, and seek to help the other person grow, a relationship will flourish. “The love between us” ends with a short poem about true love, stating that authentic, empathetic, and communicative connection is a sure way to learn and grow for all parties involved.

“Growing” focuses entirely on the changes that you begin to see once you start your self-growth journey. Once again, Pueblo brings us back to the idea of embracing change and even encourages seeking it. He provides solutions to self-doubt when faced with challenges, once again reminding us that we cannot erase memories or modify our pasts, only embrace the ways we may improve in the future. Gradual progress is hard to see, but persistence toward growing will eventually be very fruitful. Practice gratitude and release past attachments, he tells the reader, so that you may make room for more lessons, love and self-awareness. There seems to be an idea that one’s emotional capacity is a limited container—things must go out so others can come in. Though the mind is often an abstract thing, Pueblo gently materializes the human emotional spectrum and allows the reader to find that box in the back of their brain and go through it, so to speak. However, Pueblo tells us that this box can expand—when we are kind to ourselves as we grow, our capacity for empathy will grow, too.

“A new life” examines all the ways one’s life will improve once one begins to see changes in their self-growth journey. Pueblo focuses heavily on clarity in this chapter, both inside of oneself and in their surroundings. He reminds us again that maturity is vulnerability, and it is also self-accountability. He highlights the importance of humility and self-awareness, and how essential it is to practice empathy and feel love for other people. In the majority of this chapter, Pueblo revisits the ideas he had built up over the entirety of the book: he discusses relationships, progress and persistence, and how your emotions travel with you through time if you do not address them with vulnerability. Change reveals itself slowly, he says, but each little sign of progress is a sign of higher clarity and wisdom. Overall, Clarity & Connection reflects everything that Yung Pueblo is known to stand for, making it a reliable, comforting and wholly enlightening read.