A deep comfort and absolutely inspirational at the same time.

Alexandra Chan takes her own journey through grief and healing and shares it in a way that is both a comfort and and an inspiration

South East Asian culture embraces the lives of our ancestors and they are remembered in all festivals, but Chan takes this a step further, sharing her family history and entwining it with mythology to create a truly magical masterpiece. This will be an absolute great in literary history and rightly so

I gratefully received a free eARC from NetGalley and my review is left voluntarily

(Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Copy)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In the Garden Behind the Moon
*”Parents should never die!”*
In the Garden Behind the Moon is a heartfelt & hear breaking memoir about love, grief, and finding the courage to overcome.
This book made me cry, feel joy, laugh, and encouragement working through the grief of losing parents. It made me question how we as parents can prepare our children for our passing? Is that something that is possible so that our children re not left feeling the void of our absence.
My soul screamed with Alexandra as she found her peace and worked through her grief.
A truly beautiful story.

In the Year of the Ram, Alexandra Chan's belief in having life figured out crumbles with the death of her father, her last parent, an event seemingly foretold in Chinese mythology.

An enriching experience for the heart, soul, and mind! Alexandra Chan's remarkable personal book intertwines layers of narrative and meaning, offering every reader a multitude of connections. Through her storytelling, she entertains, inspires, and prompts self-exploration of one's history and inner and outer lives. With her eloquent words, vivid imagery, and skillful illustrative Chinese brush paintings, this book becomes a sensory and emotional feast, inviting you to discover magic in your own life and form more meaningful connections with yourself and the world. A wonderful journey! Gratitude to Netgalley and Flashpoint for this beautifully crafted and illustrated eArc.

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 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" 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.