Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars.

I really, really wanted to enjoy this book. I’m a big fan of stream of consciousness and introspective writing when it comes to grief and exploration of family/culture. However, I like that sort of meandering writing for short stories and novellas. I can take about 100–200 pages of that sort of literary writing before my eyes glaze over. This book, is 432 pages of that style, and I could barely get through it. I caught myself skimming rather than reading by the end, something that I would only do when reading textbooks or articles in university, not books.

I think when you use that sort of flowery and superfluous writing for more than 200 pages you lose the message and feelings that the story originally left you with.

This author genuinely has such a fascinating family history that should have kept me engaged and reading until the very end, however the length and repetition made it so difficult to keep reading.

I love the concept of modeling the journey of the story after the zodiac cycle, it’s an incredibly unique form of storytelling that we don’t see in publishing, but the constant overlapping of timelines and circular storytelling made it difficult to gleam the finer points and feelings of the author.

My favorite part of this book was the family pictures throughout the book, however my ARC was lacking captions for about… 97% of them. I know it will be fixed in time for publication, but it made it that much more difficult for me to follow along. I wanted to know who and what I was looking at in these photos, and there weren’t always context clues to help.

Overall, the concept and family stories were beautiful. Unfortunately, I think that if it was significantly edited down to be more concise short stories, this would have been 5 stars.

I have to come to terms with the fact that I am not a fan of memoirs, I can't get into it.
I have to say, the book is gorgeous, the cover as well ! But reading this has been a drag for me. It just doesn't capture my interest.

This is beautifully written and has something important to say. I enjoyed the opening, and the intriguing invitation to a world of mythos to combat the overly-logical modern world. But for me, it was overly long and lost its momentum. Also, I had expected it to offer more insight into traditional Chinese mythology, but I found those aspects more New-Age.

4 stars reading from me. Loved every second of it. Lovely read. Alexandra A. Chan is a genious. The characters are fantastic.

"In the Garden Behind the Moon" is an amazing memoir, one that felt intimate, like a friend. Usually, I'm not one for non-fiction, especially ones that I feel like will hit too close to home.

I loved how Alexandra Chan mixed her grief process with mythology, explaining a bit about her culture while also speaking about her family. I sometimes found parts of my own family on her words, and I couldn't help but be amazed by how swiftly she was able to write this book and portraying her emotions.

Recommended.

In the Garden Behind the Moon A Memoir of Loss, Myth, and Magic by Alexandra A. Chan was every bit as special as I hoped it would be. The best way to describe this is to say that the author allows the reader to experience her own personal journey through the loss of parents she loved deeply and how she grew from the experience. Having lost both of my parents, I felt a special connection with her and how heartbreaking the experience is.

Alexandra also shares the mystical experiences her family members have had and the things that have happened to her that give her comfort because she sees them as signs her father and others who have passed are still a part of her life. 

Moreover, the artwork is stunning and I feel that it was added bonus.

Overall, I highly recommend this book.

In the Garden Behind the Moon by Alexandra A. Chan is an enchanting memoir filled with beautiful prose and delightful family memories. Chan takes the reader on a journey not only to learn about her family history but also about Chinese culture. The memoir touches on challenging topics such as racism and grief in a manner that is focused on the lived experience and the joy of life that is found in the interconnectedness that is the human existence. As an individual that practices meditation, I understand that one can find connection to the external internally and Chan did a beautiful job with that depiction. As beautiful as this memoir is, there are aspects that may be a bit lengthy and prolonged, albeit for the sake of art. It may also be challenging for readers that prefer chronological stories to grasp the nature of the storytelling, which tends to take more of an artist's brush instead of an archivist's numbering system. Even so, I enjoyed this title and appreciate Chan's vulnerability and openness in sharing her family's story.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of this book!
I will say first and foremost that this book is written beautifully. Alexandra’s prose is quite lovely and paints a vivid picture. The stories about her father were profound and sometimes unbelievable, but isn’t that how most extraordinary people’s stories sound? I am truly happy for her experience. It seems like she grew exponentially from her challenges and is still continuing that growth today.
I, however, am giving this book 3 stars because often times I found her choice of words to be a bit pretentious. Perhaps it is simply that I lack the spiritual enlightenment to follow such a journey. 🤷🏻‍♀️
I found myself skim reading until she talked about her father again. Not just completely uninterested in her meditation mantra and vision, but wholly skeptical. I recognize (in myself) that this sounds a bit harsh. I do not meditate. I do not have spiritual awakenings. I do not have a rich ancestral background that I’m aware of. And thus, this review could quite possibly be the ramblings of a non-believer.
I will say, that if you are aligned with meditation, yoga, spiritual guidance, etc then you will probably like this book quite a lot.
It just was not necessarily for me. Once again, I am happy for her journey. She sounds very accomplished and her paintings were stunning (definitely will be checking out her work if I can afford it). I loved everything except the meditation parts and the lecture on Mythos vs Logos; which was essentially the first 18% of the book.

a brilliantly written memoir about magic, family, grief, loss, and time with elements of the Chinese culture.

i enjoyed this one thoroughly from beginning to end ! it is one of the most beautiful pieces i have ever read and the way it had such a huge impact on me is enough for me to give it a 4.75 star. i think what pushed me not to give this a solid 5 is because the way this is so beautifully written, sometimes it’s really hard for me to get by through the pages and words this book has. it’s also very long in my opinion and it just kind of dragged me out of my interest.

if you’re someone that is into astrology then you might want to pick this up because i think this is so informative when it comes to the topic.

but then again, there’s still room for improvement and the way i see it, people seem to love this book even with its flaws <3

thank you so much to the author and to NetGalley for this book ! this is truly a gift from above as i have learned a lot here based on the experiences the author themselves have gone through.

Firstly, it has a beautiful cover, beautiful illustrations and photos and it's beautifully written. Really, I can't get enough of these parts.
I suffered with the author and her family/ancestors so much and I hate to say this, but it could have been much shorter. It's almost 500 pages!
I also found the myths really interesting.

This memoir was truly heartbreaking with full of grief and love and it touched me deeply, so it deserves at least 4 ☆ stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review :)

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars

Okay, I hate to do this, but I could not get on with this book.

It read to me like a stream of consciousness private journal that was never edited. While there were some parts that were lovely, or beautiful, and even informative, for most of it I found myself losing focus. It was as if I was listening to a very long winded acquaintance talk about the dream they had last night and then start complaining about Trump. Don’t get me wrong, I hate Trump too, but I think the author could have focused more on her experience (and also trimmed it down a lot) instead of just saying essentially “it sucked/sucks” in different ways for 50 pages.


The pictures are great. The insights on grief and storytelling are great. If you like stream of consciousness, you will probably love this. If you’re into astrology (I’m not) you might find this fascinating. Certainly the author has an extraordinary family and many valuable stories to tell (as we all do). But…this needs to go through another edit and be at least 150 pages shorter. That’s just my opinion though.

This is a uniquely written memoir. I enjoyed how the author intertwined her story with her culture and beliefs. The close bond she had with her father spilled onto the pages and made evident how parents shape our beliefs and choices. I loved the photos of her artwork and life she included as well.

In the Garden Behind the Moon by Alexandra Chan is a beautifully-written memoir illustrating the power of stories, (mythos), to help us navigate difficult times, process grief in a healthy way and reconnect to our authentic selves, (stripping away expectations and pretense), and to the world around us, with new insight, greater fortitude, and a deeper appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us.

What if beauty isn't some abstract concept, some rare quality, present in some things, by chance, luck, or social consensus and not in others? This was just one of the many questions that In the Garden Behind the Moon left me pondering. What an eye-opening moment it was to believe, even for just a few moments, that beauty is not elusive, suppositional or limited at all, but rather, present in all things, even in darkness, setbacks and grief. That I needn't figure out how to change impossible, often unchangeable circumstances, but rather shift my own gaze to see the beauty already around me,

While reading In the Garden Behind the Moon, I felt like both the well-seasoned traveler unearthing precious artifacts to help me on my spiritual journey, visiting exotic places throughout the adventure: Iceland, Spain, Austria, and Burma, to name a few, and a treasured guest in the Chan living room, with front row seats to share in the "Chan family magic" with as much familiarity and ease as if I were with my own loved ones sharing our best-remembered stories by the fire.

I do feel that some additional edit work could be done to better group some of the stories together as certain stories felt like retellings, shared several times over, and it was hard to establish chronology with regard to the author’s own growth and healing, but I give this a well-earned four stars mainly because I came to Chan’s Memoir, as the author herself once did, an orphan without a sense of place, clear purpose, or a feeling of the safety of home. By the book’s end, however, I had embodied the spirit of the snail: strengthened by the knowledge that home is never lost—and like so many treasures in this book, I will carry it with me as I journey through this year of the Wood Dragon with a new gaze, aimed not merely at surviving in trying times, but thriving and connecting, open to all the love that surrounds me. These stories, told with compassion, honesty, and profound insight, have helped me connect once again to my own story and to magic that has always been there -- patiently waiting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flashpoint Books for this magical, heart-mending memoir complete with beautiful artwork and photos from the author.

The Garden Behind the Moon is a manifesto on life, spirituality, and grief. You follow the author as she meticulously pulls herself apart and shares the pain caused by the death of her father. She shares stories of her family and dives into her heritage from the China and America. The reader follows along as she replants her garden, learns to paint, travels to new places, in an effort to heal, while processing her sadness by sharing memories.

The memories she shares are not only of her father, but also grandfather, husband, children and mother. As each memory unfolds the author ties it to a spiritual lesson or discovery connected to a seemingly random happenstance, given weight by her memory or spirituality. Chinese mythology and other traditions and fairy tales are tied into the stories of her father and self discovery.

The memoir of Mr. Chan told through his daughter’s eyes creates a reflection of the author’s life. It is not the story of an international celebrity, but of a person beloved by his family and community. The anecdotes and wisdom shared are beautiful. It is a shame to meet Mr. Chan in a memoir after his passing as he is the sort that would be wonderful to know in life. His character is reminiscent of Mr. Rodgers, but with a focus on the more difficult realities of life that adults struggle through.

For me, this was a slow read as I would often need to stop and reflect on a passage or chapter. Quite often I would find myself pondering it throughout the day.

Alexandra Chan’s writing is well crafted and very academic in style. There are many references of Chinese mythology, western fairy tales, classic writings and pop culture throughout. I will be able to reread this story many times and glean more information. However, a reader with a strong background in different mythologies would probably find it a quicker book than I did.

I don’t have many memoirs on my shelf. The ones I do have I consider close friends. This one will be joining them.

In the Garden Behind the Moon: A Memoir of Loss, Myth, and Magic is about Alexandra A. Chan, but mostly her family and loss. She lost both of her parents in a short amount of time when she was fairly young. This is a dedication and storytelling of her parents' life, but also Chan's life after her loss. In the Garden Behind the Moon searches for meaning, and finding love and joy again in Chan's everyday life.

I rated it 4/5 on StoryGraph. It's hard to rate a memoir, especially as I haven't read a lot of them, but I truly enjoyed this book. I'm looking past the fact that memoirs aren't for me, as I feel that it isn't fair to lower the rating because of the genre.
The start was slow, but after the second book I found interest in what I read. The pictures and undertones of magic truly pulled this book together, and made it enjoyable and fairly easy to read.
I loved the way the story was told, from Chan's parents' met to the day they died. The journey after the loss was sad, but made me hopeful. One might find healing in the stories of loved ones, and looking at the past is not always a bad thing.
This wasn't particularly funny or entertaining to read, as it was sad, but it was a hopeful read. It was a great way to honor Chan's parents', and I imagine it will be a lovely read for someone who loves memoirs.

I found this book difficult to get in to at the beginning but as the book progressed I ended up really enjoying it. Firstly, the illustrations are beautiful and I loved spending time on them examining them.
Secondly, the way the author has found meaning in her grief was beautiful. I recently lost my dad and I found a lot of hope in this book for my personal journey with grief.
Would recommend to friends that have also experienced grief or just want a book that revolves around love and connection to our world.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the Garden Behind the Moon is an interesting story and one I would like to understand better. The writing, however, is disjointed, staccato if you will, and I was unable to enjoy the reading nor was I able to let it gestate as it made me antsy. It would be better served if it were told as if in conversation like a fireside chat. This version made it so difficult to read that I resorted to my university days when I skimmed books to parse out their essence if not their prose.

I had a hard time finishing this, which may just be because it’s not my type of book. The structure felt disjointed - this read more like a blog than a well-outlined book. It’s part historical account, part mythology, part academic paper, part journal, part self-help. Sometimes I knew the exact date certain events were taking place. Other times I’d be sure I was reading about the author’s journey after her father’s death only for Bob Chan to suddenly appear, alive and well. This was all intentional (according to the prologue) but did not have the polish needed to *feel* intentional.

Even though I did not enjoy this overall, there were some truly beautiful moments - the one that comes to mind is the raw and honest account of Karen Chan’s death. These moments make me think there is an edited version of this memoir I would love.

Such a beautifully written reflection on grief, love, and the past. Looking back at not only her past, but her dad’s past and family’s past, Chan shows us how everything intertwined and connected. This is a great read for those experiencing grief of all kinds and those who want to create meaning out of the most difficult moments in life.

Thanks to Netgally and the author for letting me read an early copy!

This was a tough book for me to get into, I started it twice. I decided to hang on and see where it brought me, but somehow there was just a disconnect. There is a lot happening all over. I am giving it three stars because even though I couldn't get into it, parts were beautiful. My apologies to the author. I loved the cover. I thank NetGalley and Flashpoint for the advance read.