Riveting. Stirring. A beautifully written memoir, where the prose gently but firmly pushes you along Sarah Perry’s heart wrenching tale. Truly captivating

I've had After the Eclipse on my TBR ever since picking it as a Book of the Month pick back in October of 2017. Yeah, that long. I won't beat myself up too much about it though because this is a memoir that you really need to be in the right mindset to read due to the subject matter. Sarah Perry was twelve years old when her mother, Crystal, was brutally murdered in their home while Sarah was in her bedroom. It took the police another twelve years to find the killer all while Sarah had to experience the shuffling of homes, the intense lose of her mother, and all the psychological damage that comes with it. It was incredibly well-written and formatted perfectly. I tend to have a hard time with true crime not only because of the subject matter but because they tend lean more on the killer than the victim, but Sarah put the focus on her mother instead of her killer and poured so much emotional connection into this book that you couldn't help but feel for all those involved. A solid 4/5🌟 and a must for fans of true crime.

This is such an interesting memoir. Sarah shares the heartfelt experience of what it is like to both grieve her mothers death, fear for her own life, and be not quite sure what is true and what is not true about the crime as she was home during the murder. Its a look into the criminal justice process and also into the process of growth with grief.

3.5 Stars

It wasn't what I thought it would be, but it was better. After the Eclipse is a well-crafted memoir that makes an important argument about the dangers of normalized violence. Highly recommend.

So good. Very well-researched and well-written book.

A very good victim-focused memoir written by the victim's daughter and covering the fall out of one fateful night in Maine. Ms. Perry launches the story from a couple generations earlier, spotlighting the intergenerational trauma that would color hers and her family's lives through current day. Usually time jumps in books back and forth bother me, but the author did a great job managing the flow between timelines of before and after the murder.

This story is so devastatingly tragic, but so well told. I so respect Sarah's ability to be open, honest, and share herself while still remaining true to a story that she had to painfully uncover. It reminds us that each and every person you meet has a history and a life of their own -- has secrets, loves, hopes, desires. The book is beautifully organized and a fantastic tribute to Sarah's mother.

This books alternates every other chapter about the author’s experience and grief after the murder of her mom and stories from her moms life. I really enjoyed reading how the author processed her grief and worked through healing after such a tragedy. I was less interested in the mom’s life and skipped those chapters after a while.