While it is hard to believe Jenkins' story from within standard Western conceptions of reality — which are, admittedly, limiting and cannot fully account for life's mysteries — Jenkins has succeeded in the difficult task of believably telling an unbelievable story. In this, her first book, Jenkins has already developed a conversational voice that, while it lacks the dazzling sparks of a more accomplished writer and occasionally lapses into clichés, is smooth and briskly readable — almost more like letters from an eloquent friend than a piece of capital-L Literature. Though the content of the story is bound to provoke disbelief, Jenkins' voice inspires the confidence that Coleridge called the "willing suspension of disbelief." Ironically, by expressing her own doubts and skepticism even in the midst of life-changing experiences, she makes her narrative more credible.

Initiation can be read as real religion or fantastic fiction; either way, it's a surprisingly enjoyable trip.