caroline huckeba

Dear Reader,

     

     Welcome to the 23rd issue of Spirit Lake Review presented by Dr. Kara Candito’s Literary Magazine Production class. Our 2026 team has curated an unforgettable collection of poetry, prose, and visual art that aims to foster reflection and connection within our readers. We offer special thanks to Editor-in-Chief Shayla Trautsch; Social Media and Event Planning Manager Isabel Peterson; and Web Design Manager Michele Eaches for their unyielding devotion to the success of th...

Most people are always in some form of recovery—recovering from yesterday, from themselves, from the last thing they thought too long about. Ally wakes up, makes coffee and oatmeal, and gets frustrated trying to find a YouTube video the exact length of how long it will take her to eat, so she just throws her phone down next to her on the couch. Sometimes she gets so addicted to her world in her phone—the micro-niche influencer accounts, her period tracker, her YouTube deep dives on Bhad Bhabie—t...

by Caroline HuckebaThe circus smells like popcorn oil and pennies. The air outside the tent hangs heavy with July, the kind of heat that melts your makeup before your act even starts. I paint on my smile anyway. Thick white grease, cherry red lips.From behind the curtain, I watch him—the magician. Always the magician, never his real name. His cape shines like oil under the lights, his hands slick with sleight. Cards flicker through the air, a fast red-and-black rain. One lands near my shoe, face...

The food at the eating disorder clinic reminds me of my elementary school cafeteria—specifically, the part where the food was bad. I take the last bite of my quesadilla and hear it go down with an audible gulp, the kind you hear in cartoons before someone gets hit by an anvil.“Valentine!”“Heart!”“Is it Crazy, Stupid, Love?”It’s the daily word association movie game—a dinnertime ritual meant to distract us from the emotional landmine that is eating. I didn’t understand it on my first day, a month...

ResourcesDive into our extensive resources on the topic that interests you. It's like a masterclass to be explored at your own pace.

Resources

Dive into our extensive resources on the topic that interests you. It's like a masterclass to be explored at your own pace.

The hotel has been standing longer than the city admits. It rises from the block like a kept secret, all velvet rot and gilt remorse. Its name has changed three times—each syllable peeling off like old wallpaper, but the women who clean it do not change at all.
My mother scrubbed these floors. Her mother before her. I sleep during the day in the room they never finished renovating, the one with the cracked mirror and the radiator that knocks like a trapped knuckle. At night, I wear black and car...