The Magic Eye

by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

“No endorsement can do justice to this vivid, lyric, wise, wry, compassionate, profoundly spiritual memoir of passage through some severe life trials. The Magic Eye is a microcosmic epic of unvaunting human triumph. Bursting with life in its myriad forms, this is a book to love and to share.” ~ Stephanie Mills, author of In Service of the Wild and Epicurean Simplicity

Nothing could have prepared me for being diagnosed with a rare and deadly eye cancer in the middle of trying to save the Kansas land where my husband and I live. From the 2019 diagnosis through the pandemic, I entered into both a risky plan to buy our fifth-generation farm and daunting treatment to survive the large tumor in my right eye. The Magic Eye tells the story of saving a life (my own) and a place, a 130-acre farm we had been actively turning into a wildlife refuge for three decades

202 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2025

About the author

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the Poet Laureate of Kansas, and the author or editor of 24 books, including her new book How Time Moves: New and Selected Poems (Meadowlark Press). Some of her other books include Chasing Weather (Ice Cube Press); the novels Miriam's Well (Ice Cube Press) and The Divorce Girl (Ice Cube Press); non-fiction Needle in the Bone: How a Holocaust Survivor and Polish Resistance Fighter Beat the Odds and Found Each Other (University of Nebraska Press); memoirs Everyday Magic (Meadowlark Press), The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community & Coming Home to the Body (Ice Cube Press).

Founder of Transformative Language Arts –social and personal transformation through the written, spoken and sung word (TLANetwork.org), Mirriam-Goldberg leads writing workshops widely, and coaches and consults with people and groups on creativity. With singer Kelley Hunt, she co-writes songs, she offers Brave Voice retreats (BraveVoice.com), and with storyteller Laura Packer, Your Right Livelihood trainings for writers, artists, changemakers, and more (YourRightLivelihood.com).

Reviews

[Melvin Litton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magic Eye leads us down a path of many struggles, from childhood trauma through past and recent cancers, and the battle to preserve a family’s land. A painful, at times bewildering journey laced with delight and good humor and deep, moving language befitting a former Poet Laureate of Kansas. Each page rich with fresh allusion and metaphor referencing the stars, ancient stones, friends and flowers along the way – drawing insight and inspiration from peonies and tough-rooted, resilient irises. Finally, darkness leads to light, a life and the land are saved. This is journey, or story, governed by a keen mind and eye, indeed a magic eye sustained by a true heart…

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way the author weaves together the two storylines of saving the land and saving her eyesight is masterful, compelling and a joy to read. What a soulful, true tale of overcoming challenging and life threatening odds. Inspiring!

[Cathlina Bergman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir by a poet and written very much like poetry. Very stream-of-consciousness, jumping from one topic to another. Her journey with cancer of the eye and trying to save the family farm, not to mention COVID and other interruptions. I enjoyed this one!

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written with courage, humor, heartfelt honesty and wisdom. A true gem of a book.