Customer Reviews

The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body

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After reading Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg's memoir about her battles with breast cancer, my own trauma of being a breast cancer survivor twice over seemed almost trivial in comparison. Her uplifting story is riveting.

The first paragraph in the preface sets the tone of her book:

"I cannot figure out who I am as a body these days. I look in the mirror each morning, each night. I look right into the scars, trying to read them like the dreams I have at night of driving around lost for hours, or not being able to make a call on a pay phone without punching in the wrong numbers. There is always an emergency."

Mirriam-Goldberg's memoir is set on the spacious prairie landscapes of Kansas, as indicated by the title, The Sky Begins at Your Feet. At the most productive stage of her life--teaching at Goddard College in Vermont twice a year, parenting three children, involved in the founding and organization of a conservation group, and continuing with her writing career--she is diagnosed as having breast cancer.

This begins her horrific and courageous saga of survival. She endures a lumpectomy, debilitating radiation and chemotherapy, while maintaining her sense of humor--a buzz cut followed by fake bird tattoos decorating her hairless head. Then she learns that her BRCA1 genetic mutation test is positive, an indication that expands her risks of breast and ovarian cancers. She confronts the sad realization that she will lose both of her breasts. Mirriam-Goldberg faces this, as well as the death of her father from pancreatic cancer, with amazing strenght and resolve buttressed by her loving, compassionate family and friends, and her close spiritual connection to the Kansas prairie.

I could relate to the fear and uncertainty that a cancer diagnosis brings. At the beginning of her memoir, I found I had difficulty keeping my own memories from bumping up against the author's, but as I turned more and more pages, the poetic, personal, and humorous tone imparted a wonderful flow of awe and admiration for Mirriam-Goldberg's storytelling genius. She is a true hero, and has written a must-read book for those of us who need and cherish one.

by Brenda Osborne
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who has gone through or knows anyone that has gone through cancer, it really digs into the true very sad and funny side of the little things this woman goes through while dealing with the death of her dad. Very funny with LOL moments galore.

This is a moving, essential book that made me laugh and cry at once. Caryn Goldberg captures the experience of cancer from diagnosis to cure so well. Anyone can appreciate the humor and information.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and it's the perfect time to read some novels that bring about more awareness about this horrible disease which is what I've been doing lately. The Sky Begins At Your Feet is a memoir by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg and is another such novel that makes you think hard about the devastation and emotional upheaval this disease can take upon your life and also the hope that there is when one becomes a cancer survivor.

Caryn is a 42 year old woman with a husband and three children when she receives the dreaded news that she has breast cancer. Breast cancer ran in her family but she hadn't really thought she would have to worry about it at this young age yet. Thus begins Caryn's journey into the world of cancer treatment: doctors and more doctors, tests upon tests, chemo and all that involves and ultimately the toll that this disease takes on your body, both physically and emotionally.

I appreciated Caryn's sense of humor throughout her story though. I got the feeling from reading her story that she looks upon life like this - enjoying what you have even if it's not the best at the time. When she had to shave her hair off she tattooed her head instead of wigs or hats - just little things like that showing a resilience to keep going at the hardest moments. At times I couldn't keep up with Caryn's life though as she and her husband are fairly involved in many things which Caryn even tried to keep up after her cancer treatments. What she learned though that this disease makes you take a step back and realize that life is about more than running yourself ragged no matter how important the cause. You need to take time for yourself - to heal, to grow healthier and stronger.

Caryn also discovered that she carried the BRCA genetic mutation gene. What this means is that you have a much greater liklihood of getting breast cancer in addition to ovarian cancer. I'm very aware of the horror of hearing about this genetic mutation as it runs in my family as well. I myself have not been tested for it yet although have been urged to but I live in a state of denial and not wanting to know and not having to make the decisions that come with knowing you carry it. With Caryn having this genetic mutation the best thing to do is have your breasts removed along with the rest of your female organs. It's a tough reality to be faced with yet I found Caryn did it with a lot of courage and determination.

One thing I really noticed and envied a great deal was the support system Caryn had and has. I mean there was her husband, family, her friends, even people she worked with who would come together to bring meals for her family, to be with her at the hospital and to come together in prayer. I'm sure this went a long way in helping her to heal as well, to know all these people cared about her and her well being.

Ultimately what I really admired was Caryn's courage to fight the cancer and to keep going. At the end of her memoir she is six years cancer free and I pray she will continue that way. Stories of survival warm my heart as I've lost so many to this awful disease and it gives hope to those going through cancer themselves or those living with someone who is. Caryn mentions living with the fear of the cancer always returning and that is something I understand as well with my father having had cancer and lately having recurring bouts with skin cancer. It's a deep seated fear inside that this disease will one day rear it's ugly head again but in the meantime you have to get up and enjoy each day as it comes and this is exactly what I see Caryn doing - living her life now to the fullest. I think a memoir such as this is like a little shining light of hope for those going through cancer or those living with others enduring it.

A powerfully honest and inspiring story of the author's account of her journey with breast cancer. She reminds us that serious illness can re-awaken us to life's beauty, deepen our respect for the fragile balance between our lives and the earth's, and find our healing in the source of a supportive community.

I didn't find this wonderful book until after my own journey with breast cancer but I'm happy to read it now as it is helping me to process the difficulties and ragged edges of that time in my life.

--- Anne Marie Bennett, author of Bright Side of the Road: A Spiritual Journey Through Breast Cancer

Almost nothing is more frightening in this day and age than to hear the C-word diagnosis. Yet there are miracles of healing and surgical help all around us and this book opens the door for anyone to step through into one woman's world of those miracles. Caryn takes us with her on her journey by including us as a member of her family or as an old friend. She writes about her fears, her support system, her children's discussions at the dinner table, as well as the struggle to accept the transformation of her changing body.
When tragedy strikes the family, we are included in working out the way to cope with it. I don't think this book was written to describe all the medical and surgical procedures one has to go through, though Caryn does not shy away from telling about them as well as sharing some unique ways of handling difficult situations. It is a book that shows us options of how we can deal with the strain of transformation, how different role models can help us make our own choices. Reading this compelling book has helped me find my own clear, brave voice while facing death, loss, and destruction of things taken for granted.
Caryn's writing is not full of overly technical vocabulary or jingoistic `feel good' solutions. It is an honest, clear and wise insight into losing what appears to be the essence of one's physical self and coming out as a whole person.
Once you start reading, you will want to know everything! And what I consider to be the sign of a good book is the fact that at the end you will want to know more.