The search for a place to call home is often a daunting one. Yet, for the speaker in Crittenden's poetry compilation, the challenge is far greater as he is navigating through the entire universe to find an abode in alignment with him. An almost seamless fusion of storytelling and poetry, Crittenden's compilation is bursting with energy and meaningful introspection of life in the cosmos that connects with all audiences. Themes of hope clash with isolation against the backdrop of scenes painted vividly using poetic devices, yielding a stunning splendor of images that probe into what is truly possible. Beyond the earth, are the possibilities truly limitless?

Right from the opening poem, Crittenden's comfort with experimental structure is on full display. The structural wordplay throughout takes on a life of its own and imbues the readers with the feelings the poet is trying to convey. For instance, in "Falling," the cascading structure gives off the effect of literally falling. While there isn't a distinctive rhyme scheme, the narrative structure more than holds its own as the speaker ruminates over his actions and their ramifications on an earth that is being destroyed with every passing second, whether that is with "people under collapsed buildings, houses swept away, cities leveled."

Conjure the image of journeying through the galaxy, marveling at the infinite nature of its existence, the minuscule nature of humanity's own, and simultaneously feeling immensely alone and vulnerable. This is the portrait that the author portrays with impeccable precision and grace over the course of four parts that seem to fuse into one epic poem about finding home and belonging. Crittenden's work is electric with hardly a dull moment, deploying a wide array of poetic devices ranging from repetition to similes and metaphors. Whether it's comparing his travels through the sky to a "runaway balloon" or the bird's eye depiction of seeing the chain of nature's creatures as the speaker freefalls, audiences are consistently experiencing the author's creation from a distinctively cinematic angle.

While the structural and syntactical display is downright spectacular, the meaningful hunt for a dwelling transports readers down a philosophical journey as well. In poems like "Fossilized," readers can resonate with the speaker's astonishment over a new civilization having already replaced him. Meanwhile, in "Camaraderie," the speaker yearns for a return to earth. In the most basic of terms, the phenomenon of not knowing what you have until you no longer have it is on display in the most gut-wrenching of ways. "Holding On," similarly, is the ultimate ode to a planet whose magnificence the speaker finally sees, from "a cave's hidden beauty," to something as simple as "submerging underwater to hear the world fall away."

With a blend of emotions surging through the speaker almost nonstop, there is not only a focus on finding home but also finding one's self and one's identity that has become drained away by the mundane day-to-day responsibilities life never ceases to throw one's way. More than anything else, the compilation emphasizes the notion of being an inhabitant as a unification of energies between the individual and the earth, even though much of humanity has forgotten or overlooked this fact. Overall, the combination of unparalleled poetic command and a story as universal and needed as it comes makes this work an incredibly stimulating experience.

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