What a sad story. What’s even sadder is to think that there are so many women and children out there that feel they have no choice but to except violence and abuse at the hands of men. I also was very disturbed about the fact that none of the family would take this poor little girl in after her mother is killed.

My Thoughts: When Sarah Perry was only 12-years old, she experienced an event more horrific than many of us could imagine, much less survive. In the middle of the night Sarah awoke to arguing, screaming, and a fierce struggle that left her mother dead. Sarah’s description of that night and the days that followed left me heartbroken for her.

After the Eclipse follows two different storylines that converged in Perry’s memoir. The first, a daughter’s unwavering devotion to her mother, began even before the murder and continues still. Sarah, the only child of single-mother, Crystal, had an uncanny awareness of her mother’s moods, and flawed relationships as she approached her teenage years. After the murder, and as Sarah grew older, she never wavered in her love for her mother even as she was able to look honestly at all sides of Crystal. For me, Perry’s honesty became the shining star of her memoir. She examined her extended family, the police investigators, and herself under a light that illuminated, yet often cast dark shadows.

The twelve year search for Crystal’s killer was interwoven with Sarah’s own story. The fact that Sarah was in the house when her mother was murdered and that she couldn’t identify the killer haunted Sarah and the police investigators. She was questioned over and over throughout the years and her self-questioning never stopped. Sarah lived in fear of being killed herself, yet she never stopped asking the police to do more. Just as Sarah was building a real life for herself, the killer was finally found leading to a whole new set of questions.

All in all, I liked After the Eclipse very much. As with many nonfiction books, I think it could have been a little more tightly edited. This will be a great book not only those who like memoirs, but also for anyone who enjoys true crime stories. Grade: B

Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/mini-reviews-nonfiction-edition/

Heartbreaking.