Book - The Witch of Eye

Reading Group Choices, Most Read Books from RGC 2021
2021 Foreword INDIES Finalist for Essays
Publishers Weekly, “Books for Short Attention Spans 2021”
Entropy, “Best of 2020-2021: Nonfiction Books”
The Rumpus, “What to Read When You Want to Celebrate Women’s History”
The Rumpus, “What to Read When 2021 Is Just Around the Corner”
The Week, "Megan Giddings' 6 Favorite Magical Books"

This amazingly wise and nimble collection investigates the horrors inflicted on so-called “witches” of the past. The Witch of Eye unearths salves, potions, and spells meant to heal, yet interpreted by inquisitors as evidence of evil. The author describes torture and forced confessions alongside accounts of gentleness of legendary midwives. In one essay about a trial, we learn through folklore that Jesus’s mother was a midwife who cured her own son’s rheumatism. In other essays there are subtle parallels to contemporary discourse around abortion and environmental destruction. Nuernberger weaves in her own experiences, too. There’s an ironic look at her own wedding, an uncomfortable visit to the Prague Museum of Torture, and an afternoon spent tearing out a garden in a mercurial fit. Her researched material is eye-opening and lively. An absolutely thrilling collection.