In Ladder to the Light, the follow-up to her debut poetry collection Kazoo Symphonies, BW explores deeper and more complex emotional territory. Inspired by an image from a Jane Hirshfield poem ‘Mule Heart’ in which grief and joy are carried in “two waiting baskets,” Wood seeks to find balance again and regain footing after heartbreaking loss. Ladder to the Light chronicles her journey from grief to gratitude to believing in love again—poetry as a ladder toward the light. Ladder to the Light was chosen as a finalist for the 2019 Oregon Book Awards – Stafford/Hall prize for poetry and is the winner of the 2019 Oregon Book Awards Readers’ Choice Award.