As a person who suffers from religious trauma from growing up in a Fundamentalist environment, this book was very hard for me to read. I had difficultly getting through it for that reason. Otherwise, I enjoyed the timeline in the late 70's, as well. If you can stomach and tolerate very strong religious books, read it, if not, I'd pass. 4 stars

From the Moon I Watched Her was a really hard read for me. It's a coming of age story set in Texas during the 1970's. There is incest, abortion, rape, sexual assault, mental illness, a lot of religious views - a lot of trigger points for a lot of readers. I could not finish the book.

From the Moon I Watched Her was a story that I was extremely excited to start. The book had such a strong description that I was sure this was going to be a hit for me. Unfortunately, it missed big time in all of the places where I was hoping to relate.

This story revolves around religion for a big part of the book, at least a third but I would argue more throughout. Religion is such a sensitive topic for everyone and each person is entitled to their own experiences. I just could not related to Stephanie’s story at all. I feel like at face value there was so much to relate to but when really honing in that relatability was lost. At least for me.

One thing that I actually really enjoyed was the setting and time period. I love a historical fiction and even including Jimmy Carter’s name in the synopsis took me back to what I’ve learned about that time period. I think that it all felt strong and palpable at moments.

In the end, I don’t feel like I could personally relate to this book as much as I was hoping to. I think other would be able to more, though, which is why I’m giving it a 3 star. It wasn’t a favorite of mine but it was also worth a read and I’ll be recommending it to people in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me review this before release in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. This book was just ok for me. I lost interest several times but was invested enough to finish the story.

this was a really well done book, it had so much emotion and I really felt for Stephanie. The author was able to weave a beautiful story and I enjoyed reading every part of it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This book was just not for me. I do not mean it is not a good book, it definitely does some heavy lifting in terms of tackling difficult topics like religious abuse. I just couldn't relate as a reader.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of From The Moon I Watched Her for an honest review.
This was such a difficult, dark book to read . I had to just read a little at a time. I wish I could have finished it but after skipping parts I decided I would have to try and read it at a later time. These are deep subjects and with the pandemic not the best time to read it.

This was a tough read at times, but oh so good. This main character is so relatable even through her unique home situation I feel her pain and struggles. I read this in spurts while my children played at the park and many days we over-spent our time there so I could get in just one more chapter. I couldn't wait for it to end then I was sad when it did. What a gem!

Such an excellent exploration of religion in the context of 1970s America. The praise around this novel is greatly deserved as its writing style and subject matter have yet to be paralleled by a new release this year.

From the moon I Watched Her is absolutely gut wrenching.

Family drama, extreme religion, abuse and tragedy are at the forefront of this story. This is a hard read, and difficult to discuss without giving too much away. The writing is flawless and trust me, it's hard to look away. It is a coming-of-age story, but one unlike any other I have read.

A stunning read that will leave you speechless, however, it is heavy and there are a lot of triggers, so anyone unsure please check before hand.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. From the Moon I Watched Her by Emily English Medley is a coming of age story of a young girl raised in a fundamentalist Christian home. The author does a good job depicting the church in this setting. It was a difficult read at times and hard to understand the parenting that takes place....or more correctly, does not take place. I think this would however make a good book club read as it has many many topics within that would provide much discussion. Thank you to Net galley and the author, Emily English Medley.

This book was a heavy and difficult read that can be very triggering for some people. I unfortunately, could not finish due to the content. Thank you very much Netgalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'This book reminded me of the movie “Eves Bayou”. Some of the themes in that movie were present in this book. The writing is flawless and drags you in from page one. Some of the subject matter may be a bit much for some readers. The characters are well developed and you can feel their pain. Very well written book about a truly dysfunctional family and the essential it can have. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

From the Moon I Watched Her is an intriguing, yet incredibly difficult read due to several content areas including sexual abuse, rape, child abuse, church abuse, arson and drug use. Despite the subject matter, it is sometimes important to read stories that are difficult to understand the struggles we haven't experienced ourselves.

This book is tough for me to review. I have SO many questions, and things I want to bring up/discuss, but obviously cannot without giving away too much of the plot. 🤷🤷🤷I definitely think this book lends itself rather well to being a "bookclub" book!

There are heavy topics tackled here (abuse, incest, rape, abortion), just to name a few. There is also A LOT of preaching/religion throughout. I usually steer clear of books that "preach", however, it didn't bother me in this one. I found the story interesting and skillfully written. Most of the characters had a decent amount of fleshing out to them as well.

I probably would have given this 5 stars, but I felt that the ending was rushed, and for "me" a little ambiguous(?) As I mentioned above, it left me with A LOT of questions that I wanted a little more insight on. A little more explanation. I also would have liked a chapter or two farther in the future. Just to have a little more closure. However, that is probably more a "preference" issue than a flaw with the book.

Overall, this was an excellent book, and deserves two strong thumbs up from yours truly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for an Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Walters are a very religious Christian family growing up in Texas in the late 70s. However, the morals they portray on the outside don’t necessarily line up with what goes on behind closed doors.

I chose to read this as an ARC because I believed it was going to be a fictional narrative of the debate regarding abortion. I ended of DNF this at around 60% - this was just an afterthought. It may have come into play later, but with the summary for the book being abortion, I would have assumed we would have seen it more than we did by the time I was 60% into the book.

What I did enjoy was the classic “coming-of-age” story within the pages. Family dramas and coming-of-age novels are always my favorites, and we got to see Stephanie change throughout the book.

There are very triggering subjects within the book, including drug use, and violent sexual assaults. There’s also mention of pedophilia - it was not a book I was expecting to read. This is fine if I could still be entertained by the book overall, but the book in my hands was still disappointing.

This ultimately just was not a story I wanted to finish.

2 stars.

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

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Wow. I have to admit that From the Moon I Watched Her left me a bit speechless. This book was completely heartbreaking. It doesn't reflect organized religion in a positive light. The Walters family is affected by mental illness and the structure of the family has been severely weakened. The main character, Stephanie, is close with her mother which is unfortunate since she is extremely unbalanced. Of course, her father has his own issues as well. The dysfunction of her parents extends to both Stephanie and her sister and impacts their relationship as well. The book shows how life's events lead to rifts in people and families that sometimes cannot be repaired or undone.

I felt like anything bad that could happen to Stephanie did. It seemed that nothing positive or good ever happened to her. With every page I turned, I wanted just one good thing to occur. It seemed like the storyline went negative to the "extreme" ...at least in my opinion. That said, the book really was beautifully written. There was some really incredible symbolism and this author is definitely talented. Sadly, it took until the end of the book to finally see a glimmer of hope and it was after a ton of negative events happened to Stephanie. I, personally, would have liked to see a little more positivity. However, I realize that's my personal opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review this book and the opinions contained within are my own.

This was such a deeply disturbing book, I almost stopped reading part way through. I continued, however, because the story shed light on a family damaged by extreme religious practice and belief.
The story begins with Stephanie at five, and follows her coming of age in a family so dysfunctional it's difficult to believe at times. The author skilfully describes horrifying situations involving sexual assault, incest, rape and pedophilia with such childlike objectivity, the events are rendered even more shocking. It's a miracle that this child actually survives the chaos and ignorance she's born into. The story itself is told in a fragmented, chaotic way, reflecting the state of the narrator's mixed-up mind. The strongest character is Stephanie's mother, a woman who seemed to have lived an agonizing life. The author brilliantly captures her struggle to stay sane.
I did, however, find the story too dark and confusing at times. This is not a novel for the faint of heart.
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From The Moon I Watched her was an interesting novel about how our traumas can either make or break us. Stephanie grows up in a super religious cult like church, but behind the closed doors at home it is a different story. Her mother is suffering from a serious mental illness and she is constantly whispering little secrets in Stephanie’s ear. Stephanie, a child who only wants her mothers love believes everything her mother tells her..why would her mother lie to her? As she gets older and her mother’s stories get crazier and suddenly aren’t even the same stories, Stephanie starts to question everything. Is her family everything she thought it was? Will the church be able to save them all? And what exactly happened to Stephanie’s mother that haunts her?

This was definitely an extremely heavy book but it was very well written. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you Net-Galley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.