Barry Grateful Performing Arts Center

Grateful for another year of a life I once couldn’t imagine—
To everyone who has walked beside me, encouraged me, supported me, and been part of this incredible 14 year journey: thank you. I could never do this alone, I love and appreciate you more than you know. ❤️

I've been overwhelmed—in the very best way—by the response to The Illusion of Control.
When I sat down to write this memoir, I honestly had no idea how it would be received. I simply hoped that by telling the truth—the good, the bad, the painful, and ultimately the hopeful—it might encourage someone who needed to know they weren't alone.
Over the past few weeks, something unexpected has happened.
People have been stopping me in restaurants, coffee shops, book signings, and even while I'm out running errands, simply to tell me what the book has meant to them.
Today, another gentleman came up to me and thoughtfully shared all the reasons he believed the book was exceptional. He wasn't trying to flatter me—he simply wanted me to know how deeply it had affected him. Those conversations stay with me long after they're over.
I've also been incredibly grateful for the reviews that have appeared on Amazon, including this one from Ruth Fultz:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I highly recommend this book. This has got to be the best memoir I've ever read. It's more than a book about overcoming addiction! Great read!! Five stars!"
As meaningful as those public reviews are, some of the ones that have touched me the most will never appear on Amazon. Many readers have reached out personally through emails, letters, text messages, and conversations because not everyone leaves online reviews.
One of those messages came from my wonderful fourth-grade teacher, Sherry Schmidt:
"I got it. I read it. In fact I couldn't put it down, staying up until 3 a.m. to finish it. I found it enlightening on so many levels and riveting. It takes tremendous courage to bare one's soul to the world... A teacher never stops caring about her student."
Another came from my fifth-grade teacher, Evalee Signs:
"The book brought forth many emotions. Sadness... disbelief... admiration. I'm so glad you are using your magic powers to help others. Maybe in some instances teaching survival skills before they reach the bottom."
To think that two teachers who knew me as a little boy would read my life story all these years later, and then take the time to write such heartfelt messages... that's something I will always treasure.
The truth is, this book was never meant to be just a story about addiction.
It's about family. It's about dreams. It's about success and failure. It's about grief. It's about recovery. It's about learning that control is often an illusion, but hope never has to be.
If these pages have helped someone feel understood, encouraged, or simply reminded them that a second chance is possible, then every difficult memory I relived while writing was worth it.
To everyone who has purchased the book... To everyone who has written a review... To everyone who has sent a private message... To everyone who has stopped me to share a conversation...
Thank you.
Your kindness has humbled me beyond words. I don't take a single comment, review, handshake, or conversation for granted. You've reminded me that the most meaningful magic isn't what happens on a stage—it's the connection we make with one another.
For those who have asked about the book, I've included the cover below.
From the bottom of my heart...
Thank you.
— Kip Barry
"The Illusion of Control: A Memoir of Magic, Music and Survival"

I'm looking forward to coming home to Michigan and Ohio for a couple of days.

Toledo is where I was born, where I first fell in love with magic, music, and performing, and where so many wonderful people encouraged me along the way. Michigan is also where my recovery truly began, making this visit home especially meaningful.

If you're nearby, I'd love the chance to visit with you.

📍 Toledo
Tuesday, July 7 • 4:00 PM
Starbucks
5231 Monroe St.

📍 Ann Arbor
Wednesday, July 8 • 2:00 PM
Starbucks
3141 Ann Arbor–Saline Rd.

If you'd like me to sign a copy of The Illusion of Control: A Memoir of Magic, Music and Survival, please order it from Amazon ahead of time and bring it with you, as I won't have books available at these meet-and-greets.

Whether we've known each other for years, crossed paths somewhere along the way, or have only connected here on Facebook, I'd be grateful for the opportunity to shake your hand and say hello.

Thank you for all of your kindness, encouragement, and support. I never take it for granted, and I'm looking forward to being back home for a few days.
-Kip ❤️

We believe the performing arts can change lives.
A magic trick can teach confidence. A song can give someone a voice. A stage can become a place where fear gives way to courage, and where people discover gifts they never knew they had.
The Barry Grateful Performing Arts Center exists to serve youth, veterans, seniors, and those in recovery by using magic, music, theater, comedy, and creative expression to inspire hope, build confidence, and strengthen community.
We're not just creating performers.
We're helping people discover what they're capable of becoming.
Thank you for believing in this dream. We hope you'll follow our journey, share our mission, and one day join us as we transform lives—one performance at a time. ❤️🎭

🎭 The Illusion of When
For much of my life, I thought happiness was waiting for me somewhere in the future.
When I got the next opportunity.
When I made more money.
When I lost the weight.
When the relationship improved.
When life finally cooperated with my plans.
The problem was that every time I arrived at one "when," another one appeared.
I spent years chasing a destination that kept moving.
Eventually, it occurred to me that maybe the problem wasn't what I was missing.
Maybe it was what I was carrying.
Fear.
Ego.
Resentment.
Old stories.
And a lifelong attempt to control things that were never mine to control in the first place.
What I've learned is that peace isn't found by becoming someone else. It's found by becoming more honestly yourself.
The older I get, the more I believe we don't grow by adding something. We grow by letting go of what no longer belongs.
That's been my journey as a performer, a husband, a man in recovery, and ultimately, a writer.
It's also the inspiration behind my memoir, The Illusion of Control: A Memoir of Magic, Music and Survival.
If you've ever found yourself waiting for life to begin "when" something finally happens, you might relate to this story.
Available on Amazon: The Illusion of Control: A Memoir of Magic, Music and Survival https://a.co/d/0g0yTzl1
✨ Maybe the life you've been waiting for isn't waiting in the future.
Maybe it's waiting on the other side of letting go.
— Kip Barry

💥 You Are Already Everything You Want. You Just Have to Align With It.
For most of my life, I thought happiness was somewhere out ahead of me.
The next achievement. The next show. The next paycheck. The next version of me.
What I've learned is that peace doesn't come from becoming someone else. It comes from becoming more honestly yourself.
The courage, creativity, purpose, and strength you're looking for may already be there—buried beneath fear, unhealthy habits, old stories, and what I call the illusion of control.
You don't need to create a better version of yourself.
You need to uncover the one that's been there all along.
That's been my journey, and it's the heart of my memoir, The Illusion of Control: A Memoir of Magic, Music and Survival.
If you'd like to read more about that journey, it's available here:
https://a.co/d/0g0yTzl1
✨ You are not a project that needs fixing.
You are a person who needs remembering.
— Kip Barry

💥I'm honored and grateful to my hometown newspaper, the Toledo Blade, for sharing a piece of my story and my new memoir, The Illusion of Control. Growing up in Toledo, I never imagined that the winding road of magic, music, recovery, and life would someday bring me back home as an author.
My sincere thanks to the reporter, photographer, and everyone at the Blade who took the time to tell the story. It means more than I can say.
One small correction: they were kind enough to add an extra year to my age. I'm actually 62, not 63—but after performing in more than 80 countries, surviving myself, and accumulating a few miles along the way, I suppose I'm earning them one year at a time.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the book, shared a kind word, attended an event, or simply followed along on this journey. I am deeply grateful.
The article is linked below.

Toledo-born magician, musician writes raw memoir of growing up in the Glass City Kip Barry learned the hard way that alcohol wouldn’t solve his problems. “When I was a young guy, I had panic attacks,” the 63-year-old magician and ...