Banks'' s recounting of her outer journey in a physical body is seamlessly woven into the inner journey of her soul in this collection of breathtaking verse where a mastery of words and a spellbinding sense of presence become the vehicles for revelation. Her past, present, and future are anchored in the eternal rather than the linear. Mystical moments of suspended belief and forays into other dimensions are as real as encounters with the natural world. No matter how small the moment or object, it becomes a beacon in a universe far larger than we think. Yet, despite their tender beauty, there is nothing glorified about Banks'' s observations. She doesn'' t shy away from hardship or writing about her rare, incurable illness. Her gracious words encourage us to embrace life and death as part of a continuum shared by all the living. Here, in Into the Ether, is a world of hope that readers will want to return to again and again.
