MPW.70 / 2018 L’Isola—The Island of Misfits by Andrew Ryan
Photographer
Andrew Ryan Toronto, Canada

Team Chapnick

Story Summary

After a night in front of her television set Jamie Gioe knew her chaotic life in New York had reached its end and it was time to build the community she had always wanted. Jamie posted a generic ad looking for like-minded misfits to begin her own spiritually focused, back-to-the-land community called L’Isola: the Italian translation of Peter Pan’s Neverland, which translates to “The Island That Isn’t”. Jamie’s ad lead her to a rugged piece of the Missouri country side just outside of Mountain Grove, where she built the first home by hand with the help of local volunteers. Since 2012 she has been living the simple life, completely off-grid and providing a place for like-minded misfits to join her in the hills of southern Missouri.