Oh Moon Unit, you cracked me wide open with your memoir. Thank you for opening yourself to us, the readers. I'm so glad you made it through

This book is incredibly heartbreaking on so many levels, and one can only wonder how much psychological torture a family of kids can take. After reading this book and hearing her interview with Marc Maron, I can only hope that Moon gets the solace, support, and continued therapy she needs and deserves.

In the tradition of Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died, Moon Unit Zappa, daughter of musician Frank and his ex-groupie wife Gail, shares her story of parental incompetence and neglect in this sad memoir.

Moon, as she is usually called, was the sensitive eldest daughter of this ill-matched couple. All she wanted was a loving family, but her fondest wishes dd not come true. Mom Gail felt neglected by her avoidant, unfaithful husband and took her verbal aggressions out on her children, of which she had four. The Zappa household was chaotic even by 1960s-1970s Hollywood standards, and Moon was left to essentially parent herself. She grew up to be, in her own words, "a people-pleasing doormat," with bad skin and little sense of self-worth. Even Moon's moment in the spotlight as a the voice of the "Valley Girl" in her father's novelty hit of the same name was fraught with humiliation and exploitation.

In the introduction, Moon assures the reader that one of her aims is to "entertain," but there is nothing entertaining about this distressing narrative. Instead, it is a cautionary tale about the long-lasting effects of damaged people producing children they have no idea how to raise.

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

There were many, many, many times during this book that I wanted to reach out and give Moon a big hug. There are chapters where adult Moon reaches out to her younger self and gives her that hug. Her story is heartbreaking. HEARTBREAKING. She started journaling at an early age and the result is Earth to Moon: A Memoir.

Where to begin? Absentee father? Jealous mother? GTOs as role models? Moon's childhood, as the eldest offspring of Frank and Gail Zappa, could easily be described as feral. Few rules, if any, survival of the fittest, everybody scrambling for a scrap of affection from Frank (even Gail). Ugh. It wasn't conducive to productive relationships within the family (evident by the legal issues after Gail's death). The upbringing left her just brutalized. There were more than a few instances where adults pulled young Moon aside to convey that what she was relaying would be considered child abuse. She was too in it to hear it. She narrates her timeline like a journalist, not labeling or blaming, just laying out the stories.

There was a lighthearted side. The nostalgia was fun, everything from the Bay City Rollers to Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise, Adam Ant and Billy Idol, early Letterman. She was a kid, a teenager with teenaged dreams, who just happened to have a very famous father. That exposure, seemingly without protection from the parental units, forced her to grow up in some ways and stunted that growth in others. She refers to herself as "a twenty-year-old twelve-year-old with an allowance who was sent to her room, only her room is a tiny house eight miles away".

Kudos to Moon for this memoir. She's claiming her history, the good and the bad and the ugly, with humor and grace, even though she sometimes felt like "a hot mess served on a garbage can lid".

My thanks to NetGalley and Dey Street books for the digital ARC.

This memoir shows how resilient someone can be despite having parents who were disinterested in everything you do, have undiagnosed and untreated mental illness, etc.
It is not an easy read by any means, but an interesting childhood into adulthood journey with nothing left out.
I did not know much about Frank Zappa and his wife, Gail. I can no longer say that & I found out more than I ever would by reading articles.
Moon is an incredibly strong person and how much work she had to do to deal with all the adversities thrown her way.
I would recommend.

After reading an article on People magazine’s website about this book coming out, and some of what Moon Unit Zappa’s life has been about, I immediately knew I wanted to read this memoir. I was right in my feelings, because this memoir did not disappoint.

Growing up I had always heard of Frank Zappa and knew who he was, but the only song I know by him is that of the one he created with his daughter, Moon Unit for “Valley Girl”. I think everybody loved that song! “Valley girl, she’s a valley girl. Okay, fine. For sure, for sure. She’s a Valley girl, and there is no cure”. 🎼🎤🎸

Okay, on to the book… After reading this, I just want to hug Moon Unit. I want to be her friend. I want to tell her that she’s not alone. That many people live the same type of life she did, and can very much resonate with her (although my family is not a bunch of celebrities). However, Moon was unfortunately the family scapegoat. She never came out and said that in the book, but it’s quite obvious. She lived in survival mode from a very young age, and had zero nurturing or support system. Frank loved his music and his women, and her mother Gail- well she loved herself.
While reading this, I googled pictures of the family and it’s clear to me that Moon Unit and Dweezil got all the good looks. Therefore, I think her mother was jealous and did everything to make sure Moon never succeeded. Dweezil (her brother) seemed to get the short end of the stick a lot as well. Regardless, everything that went on in her family home was dysfunctional!

There were many things that were heartbreaking to read in this book, and one of them is how many times people told her she was ugly while growing up. Moon says she had horrible acne, and yet no one in the home took her to a dermatologist/doctor or taught her basic hygiene. Moon says she always had a hard time finding a boyfriend, and said something that hit hard- “Inwardly I fear it’s because all guys are like my dad. No one loves honesty, directness, earnestness, vulnerability. No one loves a reader”. 😭

All in all this a great memoir that I highly recommend. For me, I found Moon to be very relatable. I just wish that more pictures were included (and maybe they are in the final proof 🤷🏻‍♀️).

Many thanks to NetGalley, Dey Street Books, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure to read. This book was published on August 20, 2024.

This was an emotionally heavy book and one that will stick with the reader long after it's read. Moon Unit Zappa has a natural story-telling ability that lifts the reader above the darkness of the story. This is a story of mental abuse of a child - from childhood through to adulthood - neither of which are any easier to read about. The author's resilience shines through on every page, and she seems to be all the better having come through it.

Those of us who are of a certain age remember Moon and her brother Dweezil fondly, mainly through exposure via MTV. Moon especially seems so cool - someone you'd want to hang out with. I don't think any of us knew what their lives were really like. From being shackled with handcuffs to her brother during a normal childhood meltdown, to having her portion of her father's will yanked away by her mother. Zappa's retelling is compelling and heartbreaking, unbelievably told with a touch of humor that makes this a much easier book to read than it probably should.

Kudos to Zappa for writing the most engaging, memorable memoirs I've read.

This memoir by the daughter of Frank Zappa packs an emotional punch -- in a really good way. I was so moved by her story and its ups and downs and it was really relatable to me on so many levels. It is a story of family, self-absorbed parents and trying to find your voice amongst the chaos. What really worked well for me is she centered herself back in the feelings and thoughts she had as a child as she wrote about her childhood -- so it felt real and not a high level view looking back to the past from an objective lens. Because of this incredible writing (accompanied by drawings and letters), you cannot help but root for her. There are two devastating moments in particular - the health scare of her daughter, her self-absorbed husband (they do say you often marry someone like your parents), and the final rupture of the family due to pettiness and grudges from her mother. I am glad to hear that Moon Unit has landed on her feet and found her own voice given all of this. I look forward to a potential part 2 to see how her future unfolds -- I am rooting for her!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dey Street Books for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

Dey Street Books provided a galley for review.

Growing up, I never got into the music of Frank Zappa. It was always a bit out there for me. My older brother might have had some of his records though. For me, what came into my radar was the 1982 song "Valley Girl", written by Frank and featuring Moon Unit on vocals. That clicked for me since a) I was a teen myself at the time and b) the whole valley asthetic was prevasive in popular culture at the time. I know those lyrics by heart.

Thanks to an episode of Ahmet Zappa's "Rocktails" I was made aware of this book. I was fascinated by Moon's discussion with the guys about it and, thus, felt I had to go to check it out.

Although our worlds were so far apart, we both come from Generation X - the kids that often had to grow-up to take care of themselves due to working parents. We had to figure out a lot of things for ourselves, relying upon deduction, logical inferences, and trial-and-error to get by. We also maybe could have used a bit more of our parents' attention and affections; we had to take what we could get.

The latter chapters dealing with parenting and her daughter's health hit home hard for me. So too did the revelation of Gail's final act against Moon and Dweezil (I can very much relate to this).

Moon's writing is straight-forward, honest and often hilarious in a dark comedic way. There are so many touchstones that those who grew up in the 70's can easily relate; they need no in-depth details. As the kids today say, IYKYK (if you know you know).

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable memoir. I learned a lot and came away with some things to ponder as well.

Thanks to Moon Zappa, Dey Street Books, and NetGalley for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was maybe 10 years old when “Valley Girl” was played on the radio, and I was raised on MTV, so I have vivid memories of Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa as Veejays. And speaking of MTV, the Monkees revival included an episode of their show where their dad, Frank Zappa, was a guest. About the same time, Frank, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, and John Denver were testifying before Congress to try and stop the censorship of music (they failed, leading to an “Explicit Content” labels on some albums).

My Gen X heart soaked in Moon’s beautiful prose. Unlike many memoirs, she wrote the book in present tense for the most part, with vivid memories dating back to toddlerhood. Her parents, Frank and Gail, were real pieces of work. Frank was mostly an absentee dad, touring the world for most of the year, leaving Moon to yearn for a closeness to her dad that was never really fulfilled. When he was home, he didn’t like talking about feelings (a familiar refrain from Gen X kids). Her mom clearly did not want to be a mom, despite having four kids with Frank. Like many of our generation, the Zappa kids in many ways raised themselves and for Moon, being the oldest, helped raised the others.

Some things learned about Moon’s family: Frank and Gail didn’t drink alcohol or do drugs. Frank was a serial womanizer, keeping a woman in every port, it turned out. Several times he mentioned to Gail, who then mentioned to the kids, that Frank was thinking about leaving her for X woman in X location. He may have been a critical and cultural success with his experimental music but was pretty much a commercial failure until Valley Girl.

I enjoyed reading about how Moon grew up and got out of the house yet was still under the thumb of her mother in many ways. And she wrote lovingly about her dad’s fight with cancer and a certain closeness with him that finally developed. And the utterly screwing over of the kids by Gail after Frank’s death. Later in the story, Moon talks about the legal battles that ensued after her mother’s death, and it was the only time that her writing wasn’t concise; I was left wondering exactly what went down. I don’t know if the vagueness was intentional because she’s not allowed to talk about the case, or if it was too painful to dive into because of how estranged she is with her siblings now. I’ve since read articles in the Washington Post and L.A. Times that explains these issues and the dynamics in the family much better.

This is a fine look into the counterculture movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as a thoroughly Gen X look at life with a well-known musician and the subsequent years. Definitely recommend!

I’ve always liked Moon Unit Zappa. She’s always come off as someone I’d like to grab coffee with, down to earth, funny, and strong.

In this book we find out exactly how strong. This woman has been through hell. I’m got going to bother talking about who her parents were, other than to say they were horrible parents. Her childhood and life were so damaged by them and my heart breaks for her.

This book is how she made it through to be the woman she deserved to be, realistically happy. If was a long road and her story should be a cautionary tale to a lot of people. It has a happy-ish ending though.

This is so well written that it pointed out the one thing she never really went into detail about, how she became a writer. I would have loved to read about her feelings when her first book was published.

Great book! Recommend to everybody and hope to hear more from Moon in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dey Street Books for this advanced reader's copy.
Moon Zappa has had one heck of a life. I know, this is my non surprised face also. With parents like Frank and Gail, you kinda know what you are in for.
While I was not as surprised that Frank was pretty much non existent in her life (through no fault of Moon's), it was heartbreakingly surprising how incredibly (I will say it) terrible Gail was as a mother. There were a lot of moments that I knew about that contributed to this (the handling of Frank's estate for example), but I learned a lot and I have to tip my cap to the author for still finding her own joy.
I found it curious, though not in a bad way, that this was written in present tense. This may be the first memoir/autobiography that I have read that used this writing style. It made it feel more "connected" to Moon Unit as a reader, and made the writing more immediate. This was one of the fastest reads I have had in a very long time.
And that is not just because of writing choices. Moon is a very likable person, flawed, doing her best, and ready to share her tips as well as her struggles. Did I learn much about Frank's music? No. But I learned a lot about a person I would love to spend more time with.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dey Street Books for this advanced reader's copy. This was WILD ride, just like Moon's life. Moon is the daughter of Frank Zappa, and she grew up in a very interesting household with lots of nudity, sex, and a freedom. Her parents were naked a good amount of her childhood growing up, may have just been the time period in the late 60's and throughout the 1970's. Moon went to a regular school until she dropped out and got her GED. She did some acting and sang on one of her father's albums. She sounds like she grew up to be a surprisingly normal adult after experiencing quite the interesting rocker and free upbringing. I could not put this book down more just because I was in awe in all she went through, how different I was raised in the 1980's and 90's and how very different things are now.

Poignant, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once.

What was it like trying to be yourself in a family so centered on one that others needs weren’t prioritized? Learning who you are, growing up the eldest child of a ‘celebrity’ in Los Angeles, learning to trust others when many people view you as an extension of that parent? As a member gen x, and mother of young adults, growing up is painful and difficult enough on it’s own (regardless of time of birth), imagining doing it how the author had to made me wish I could give her a mug of tea and a hug.

Having been going through my own journey to a more peaceful be-ing, reading what Moon shared of her own journey really resonated with me. I finished this memoir with tears in my eyes and nothing but well wishes for the author and her family.

I recommend this one to anyone struggling with their footing on their own journey.



Thank you to Dey Street Books and NetGalley for the DRC

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Dey Street Books for an advance copy of this biography about a woman growing up with a famous father known for his iconoclasm, and who it took her many years to find escape the orbit of her family and find her own center of the universe.

The first time I think I head any song by a Zappa was at a relative's house in Long Island where two of my cooler, older female cousins kept playing a song they knew every word to. The song was Valley Girl, by the cult rock star Frank Zappa, and his daughter Moon Unit Zappa. They loved this song, playing it over and over, singing laughing and having a good time. This was the only hit by Zappa, which also was up for a Grammy. And was the only song his daughter Moon Unit sang with him. Later working in records store's I came to know Zappa and his fans along with his music. I liked Zappa's instrumentals, and his orchestral works, but a lot of his songs to me seemed like well finding pornography in the woods. You didn't expect it, the lyrics might make one laugh, but one does move on. Still love his music though not the lyrics as much, and his book was quite good, though it might have skipped much about his personality. Moon Unit I knew for her television work and a few movie roles. I was unaware of how good a writer she was, or how much material her life had given her to write about. Earth to Moon is a memoir of growing up in a family that was from the outside considered odd and wacky, but on the inside was something far different.

Moon Unit Zappa was the first of four children for Frank and Gail Zappa, whose marriage seemed to based on the fact that everything was for Frank, and not for any one else. Moon being the oldest and a daughter was soon put in charge of her siblings, and also became the center of Gail's frustrations with her life and her husband. Frank toured most of the year, and when home was either out rehearsing, recording all night, and sleeping through the day, usually with groupies or girlfriends, he would bring home. Other times the house would be filled with counterculture types or more groupies, where morals, clothing and manners were usually optional. Parenting was not Frank's strong suit, nor was monogamy nor driving, and the house was filled with arguments, threats, and Franks stoic attitude of not caring about anything. This effected Moon in many ways. In school, in dating, and later in life. Brightness came from a note from Moon asking to make a song with Frank, that took off and allowed the Zappas a chance to get a little bit from under the shadow of Frank. Just as Moon was beginning to find her way in Hollywood, Frank was diagnosed with cancer, and soon everything changed.

I knew a bit about the legacy of Zappa from a few documentaries and both his book, and the Barry Miles biography. So I didn't go into this book unaware, but still Zappa might have been a great musician, but he was a lousy human. I know Moon would not want this said, I would hate to hear my Dad bad mouthed, but this poor woman went through a lot. And she was not helped by the fact her mother had Stockholm syndrome, and probably depression from being married to Zappa. The fact that she is writing this book shows a lot of the strength this woman has. Entertainment is not a nice place, and to read at the end how she seems to have well not forgiven many, hopeful not forgotten that's the Irish in me, and seems happy is really a wonderful thing.

The writing is very good, filled with a lot of little vignettes that will make her grew up in this era go oh wow, oh I know that, I remember that. I hope Moon continues to write, as I really enjoyed the style, and the way she wrote about things, uncomfortable things, happy moments, and life changing. I might have lost a lot of respect for a musician reading this book, but I have gained a tremendous amount of respect for his daughter.