After the Eclipse



I recently finished this amazing memoir about the anguish of losing a parent at such a vulnerable age.  Most heartbreaking, hearing that parent being murdered as a young girl who is frozen in fear.  Sarah Perry could not have imagined that after sitting in the darkness of the eclipse, her mother would fade into darkness and become an even more distant memory as time lapses. 

This story begins with memories Sarah cherishes as she reminisces about the time she spent with her mother, Crystal.  She finds herself practically orphaned at the tender age of thirteen as she wakes up and hears her mother shrieking as she takes her last breaths.  Frozen, Sarah contemplates running to the aid of her mother or waiting until the perpetrator leaves.  The horror of what might happen to her if she waits flashes through her mind and fight or flight kicks in.

As she escapes into the night running into the frigidness of winter seeking help, the images of her mother lying on the bloodied floor return to her.  For years she is passed around from one family member to another, never feeling wanted as she struggles to leave the memory of her mother's murder behind.  Reinventing her identity beyond the girl whose mother was murdered proves to be challenging.

This memoir is about the journey Sarah Perry faced while she fought to seek justice and find the perpetrator responsible for her mother's murder.  As she searches for answers through the help of investigators and those who knew Crystal, she begins to understand that there was so much more to her mother she didn't know.  A person she couldn't have imagined existed.  

The vibrant young murdered woman was one with many secrets.  A woman whom some claimed to be promiscuous which leads to a list of possible suspects.  It is hard to reconcile the woman Sarah knew compared to the woman some described.  To salvage the memories of her mother, Sarah works at keeping the two separate.

After years of running and staying away from home Sarah is asked to return as the local police make an arrest related to Crystal Perry's murder.  This revelation opens doors that Sarah explores as she seeks the answers that led to that one fateful night. 

Sarah becomes overwhelmed with emotion as she comes face to face with her mother's murderer.  Will she finally find the closure she has longed for or will they walk free? 

I highly recommend reading this memoir.  It is a story of self-discovery and heartache.  The search of a young woman in finding a home and having a sense of belonging.  Every turn of the page leaves you wanting more.  This eye opening memoir gives you an inside look on how families are fractured and the healing that one chases after a loved one is murdered.  It is a detailed message of hope and dedicated love to the one lost.