Between the Earth and Sky moves the reader through stages of grief. The poems offer a brave look at loss, death, and the emotions that are difficult to express when troubled loved ones die. This narrator experiences her brother’s heroin addiction and death, and the loss of her parents, through the lens of survival. We are never left in despair—alongside her are a strong husband and a grounding connection to nature. When challenged to forgive her brother, and come to terms with her father’s absence and alcoholism, and her mother’s depression, the narrator integrates personal pain into a more expansive view of life. Ultimately the book guides us toward the understanding that every person has their own journey, and along with the struggles that often seem unbearable are joy, healing, and the renewal that daily living can bring.