CUT OPEN THE SKY

In a vivid biography written in the form of a memoir, the author tells the story of a California psychic born during the Great Depression.

In the introduction, Corazza describes her first meeting with Connie Castro Jackson and the firm friendship that evolved, culminating in their working together to outline Jackson’s history, which Corazza writes from Jackson’s point of view. Jackson’s mother, Josie Mills, was one of millions of impoverished people who fled Oklahoma during the 1930s, exchanging the despair of the Dust Bowl for the hard life of a migrant farm worker. Jackson was born in a worker camp; her father was Ciriaco “Cherry” Castro, a Filipino farmworker she described as “the sweetest man I have ever known.” From Cherry, she inherited her dark skin, which exposed her to racism. From Josie, she inherited a shame that “passed to me through the womb” and led Jackson to reject her father’s culture and language for years. She claims she also inherited a psychic ability from Cherry, which first manifested itself as the ability to see terrifying spirits. Jackson faced her fears and began to explore all facets of New Age and psychic beliefs; she overcame both institutionalized racism and social prejudice to become one of two students of color in a mostly White cosmetology school. She married, and while her spouse didn’t believe in psychic phenomena, he supported her in all her pursuits, including her spiritual studies and her eventual career as a spiritual teacher and leader of numerous classes and conferences. Corazza’s narrative provides a complex, personal view of the political, economic, and racial realities of Depression-era California farm workers and the rise of New Age spirituality—all told in a down-to-earth, unique voice. The author’s attempt to capture Jackson’s point of view is convincing and adds an immediacy that would likely be lost in a third-person description of events. At the end, a “Message From Connie,” channeled by Corazza during meditation sessions, adds a fitting “woo-woo” note to a fascinating story.

A captivating consideration of the life of a California mystic.