Insects, jellyfish, wild horses, hurricanes. Shark teeth and coyotes. Sisters who wait tables. Men who go to sea then come home to dance with our mothers in the family kitchen. These are some of the living, breathing ties that keep a body tethered to place. This collection teems with a longing for connection to the natural world. It asks, “How does a person come to belong?” and it answers again and again that if connection is indeed possible, it is only in moments where we recognize ourselves in what’s considered other, that the moments are fleeting as silverfish across a bare floor. Are we comfortable with discomfort? Can we look in the mirror? When the long-tailed weasel shows us its prey, do we dare keep our eyes open?—L.L. Henley, Starshine Road (Perugia Press)