There is an expression that goes like this: "An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward."

In Glass to Sand, this is a concept explored by the author, sometimes painfully, other times with a colorful delight. In the first section of five poems, Kimberly relays themes sprouting from a millennial age and yet universal, like first heartbreak, living a fast life and dealing with the pressures of a society with often-established norms of how a life should be really be lived. The author also makes us of confections as imagery for anything from regret to self-confidence and patience.

In the second half of the anthology, the short stories dive deeper into realistic millennial conversations complete with a bearded hipster meeting a self-help reader in a café. The conversations then shift to memories from the author's ancestors about an ill-fated evening waiting for a shiny Ford, and a nightmare stemming from the all-too-common issue of domestic violence. The collection's last eponymous story completes the transition from a reflection of a painful past into a promising contemplation of the future.