"In The Shadow of the Moons"

In The Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family (Nansook Hong)

This book fits into the little subgenre of cult-escape books - most of the ones I've read have been about Scientology, but this one is about (checks title) the Moonie church, more specifically the man himself and his totally dysfunctional family. The author is married (at 15) to the eldest son of Sun Myung Moon, and escapes with her children after over a decade of abuse, verbal, mental, and physical. What really stuck with me is the author's strength; the abuse she undergoes is horrific, and I couldn't help but smile at the end of the book when she successful escapes and sets about building a real life for herself. She also seems more sad than angry about what she went through - and make no mistake, this is a downer. Even so, I recommend it. It's harrowing, but this is a story that deserves to be told.

Grade: :0