This week I interviewed the amazing photo-journalist and educator Colin Boyd Shafer, whose new book FINDING AMERICAN comes out on October 31st. The book is absolutely incredible and beautiful. It features stories of immigrants from all 50 states and is an epic journey through America, and in turn, the world. Colin spent over a year covering over 50,000 miles in a Prius, sleeping on couches and interviewing and photographing immigrants. So much attention, thought, time and love went into this book. In a world where 30 second clips rule and we are rewarded for our ability to be quick and concise, this book is a reminder of how much art can encompass when we make the time and take the time.

From the publisher:

A captivating photographic portrait of the diverse experiences of immigrants in the United States, depicting the resilience and realities of building a home in a new place.

Disturbed by the increasingly hostile views of immigrants that arose in the United States during the 2016 presidential election, photographer Colin Boyd Shafer set out on a road trip to meet hundreds of families and individuals with roots abroad who now live in America. The result, after a year of travel covering fifty thousand miles, is this collection of striking photos and moving stories that form a portrait of the nation’s complex and shifting relationship to immigration. Some of the participants chose to make America home; others were displaced by crises. Some were warmly welcomed and granted citizenship; others battled the immigration system for years and still live with fear and uncertainty. Their circumstances and origins vary, but all are united by a willingness to share their stories—of harrowing journeys, intense love, separated families, passionate activism—in hopes of adding nuance and depth to a vital issue that continues to polarize Americans.

Colin and I discuss how the book came to be, his own history of immigration, the beauty of planning, his connection to the people in the book, the importance of storytelling and asking questions, why he hates grits and so much more!

Follow Colin @colinboydshafer & follow the podcast @immigrantjampodcast 

Preorder the book here https://www.figure1publishing.com/book/finding-american/#:~:text=“In%20Finding%20American%2C%20Colin%20Boyd,seen%2C%20heard%2C%20and%20respected.

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