From the Moon I Watched Her by Emily English Medley

This book was a heavy, difficult read. I want to preface this review with a very strong content warning. This book will not be for everyone. Make sure to read the content warning before you decide if this is for you if you have sensitivities or triggers when reading.

Stephanie is our narrator and the main character in this book. We follow her as she ages, but her first narrative is at five-years-old. We find out that Stephanie’s father is the local preacher, extremely against the act of abortion, and yet, we soon discover that inside the preacher’s home and private life, things are disgusting, ugly, and awful.

Medley’s writing is amazing. The writing creates such emotion, good and bad, you can’t help but be impressed. It’s an all-consuming read that I could not walk away from.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to say that this was a book I loved. The tragic and horrifying events in the book make it hard to say that, however, this is a book that impacted me and I won’t easily forget.

Content Warnings:

Abortion, very religious tones, mental illness, father/daughter sexual relationship, sexual relationship between young girl and boys, animal abuse, adultery

To Read or Not To Read:

I would recommend From the Moon I Watched Her to readers that are looking for a deeply moving and emotional historical fiction with a strong character connection to the reader.

Where to Find This Book:

From the Moon I Watched Her by Emily English Medley is available at these sites.

Amazon ~ Kindle ~ Goodreads

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It’s hot, Texas, and the year 1977. Jimmy Carter is in office.

The Walters are a good, churchgoing family who stand for holiness, purity, grace, and Christian love. Except when they don’t.

Family patriarch and fanatic preacher, Victor Black, knows many things for sure, including the fact that abortion is murder and should be punishable by death–a position he defends live in a televised debate. Black’s youngest granddaughter, Stephanie Walters, sits in the front row wearing her frilly Sunday dress, listening carefully to every word.

But it doesn’t take long for cracks to appear in the Walters upstanding family facade. Stephanie’s mother, Lily, begins telling unsettling stories about having a baby who died, and her story keeps changing. It’s clear Lily has a secret–one that righteous Victor Black would kill her for if he knew. This family secret burns more than the lies . . .

From the Moon I Watched Her is a coming-of-age tale about the skeletons that lurk under church pews and the little girl who goes looking for and finds them. Amid the dark and quirky terrain of camp revivals, burning crosses, and public shunnings, one child from the Southern Churches of Christ cries out.

Just the Facts:

From the Moon I Watched Her by Emily English Medley
Genre: Historical Fiction
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Pub Date: January 19, 2021