4.5/5

Sarah Perry’s memoir, After the Eclipse, is a story of insurmountable personal horror following the brutal and violent murder of her mother in their home when Sarah was just 12 years of age. Thwarting traditional true crime narratives that focus on the killer, Perry’s emotionally resonant, perceptive and heartbreaking memoir brings to light who the woman, the mother, Crystal Perry was, long before she became the ‘victim’ while also shedding light on Sarah’s own turbulent childhood in the years following her mother’s death. At one part, coming of age, and at another, a beautiful ode to a woman whose life was unfairly cut short, this is one of the best memoirs I’ve read this year. Perry is an assured writer and you’re drawn into her orbit with least resistance. There’s pain, heartbreak and pure, unadulterated anger that you feel as a reader at what Sarah went through as a child, hours of repeated questioning to a point of self-doubt, volatile family members and no real emotional support, but at the same time there’s a feeling of inspired reckoning at the courage this young girl, now woman, has within her. The sheer tenacity with which she’s held on, without succumbing to the futile, desperate circumstances that envelop her. It’s not until the last few chapters, 12 years after Crystal’s death is the killer identified and convicted. Perry’s story is one that’ll stay with me long after. If you’re looking for an incredibly well written, haunting and beautifully resonant memoir, look no further. This is one I’d highly recommend.