After the Eclipse: A Mother's Murder, a Daughter's Search - Rilegato

Praise for After the Eclipse “What strikes me so strongly about this excellent memoir is that—considering the subject matter—the writer was able to organize it at all.  It’s sometimes disarmingly astute, and what it says about the ties that bind, at the same moment they sometimes get stretched way beyond capacity, elaborates not just this singular drama, but provides a painful , and wincingly real, statement about class in America.” —Ann Beattie, award-winning author of The State We’re In: Maine Stories, The New Yorker Stories, and more “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta

Praise for After the Eclipse “After The Eclipse is a tragedy set in motion by the vicious murder of a plucky young woman, the author’s mother. It’s a tender elegy for her too, and for the life she made with and for her daughter. Crystal Perry was much more than a victim, and Sarah Perry gives her vibrant life here. She does the same for the small, working class Maine town they both grew up in: the woes passed down through generations; the feelings (rage and guilt, grief), acted out but mostly unspoken. Perry writes with unerring power and hard-won wisdom.” —Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Negroland: A Memoir “What strikes me so strongly about this excellent memoir is that—considering the subject matter—the writer was able to organize it at all.  It’s sometimes disarmingly astute, and what it says about the ties that bind, at the same moment they sometimes get stretched way beyond capacity, elaborates not just this singular drama, but provides a painful , and wincingly real, statement about class in America.” —Ann Beattie, award-winning author of The State We’re In: Maine Stories, The New Yorker Stories, and more “After the Eclipse, Perry’s beautifully wrought account of her mother’s murder, is a profoundly important book. In this gripping tale of the search for the killer, Perry examines the issues her mother faced in her brief life: poverty, the search for home and, most importantly, the deadly and all-too-common issue of violence against women.  Part memoir, part true crime, Eclipse is a clear-eyed, captivating portrait of a life cut short. With this book, Perry writes her mother back into the world.” —Alison Smith, author of Name All the Animals “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta

Praise for After the Eclipse “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta  

A Barnes & Noble Discover Pick "Raw and perfect...I've never read a better depiction of how a sudden, violent event rips through a human being's apprehension of reality...[It's] an unfussy, richly textured remembrance of a town, a family, a particular place on the planet that its author knows all the way down to her bones—the strengths of a classic memoir... After the Eclipse [has] an eerie, heartbreaking power that it shares with the very best of true crime." —Laura Miller, Slate “After The Eclipse is a tragedy set in motion by the vicious murder of a plucky young woman, the author’s mother. It’s a tender elegy for her too, and for the life she made with and for her daughter. Crystal Perry was much more than a victim, and Sarah Perry gives her vibrant life here. She does the same for the small, working class Maine town they both grew up in: the woes passed down through generations; the feelings (rage and guilt, grief), acted out but mostly unspoken. Perry writes with unerring power and hard-won wisdom.” —Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Negroland: A Memoir “What strikes me so strongly about this excellent memoir is that—considering the subject matter—the writer was able to organize it at all.  It’s sometimes disarmingly astute, and what it says about the ties that bind, at the same moment they sometimes get stretched way beyond capacity, elaborates not just this singular drama, but provides a painful , and wincingly real, statement about class in America.” —Ann Beattie, award-winning author of The State We’re In: Maine Stories, The New Yorker Stories, and more “After the Eclipse, Perry’s beautifully wrought account of her mother’s murder, is a profoundly important book. In this gripping tale of the search for the killer, Perry examines the issues her mother faced in her brief life: poverty, the search for home and, most importantly, the deadly and all-too-common issue of violence against women.  Part memoir, part true crime, Eclipse is a clear-eyed, captivating portrait of a life cut short. With this book, Perry writes her mother back into the world.” —Alison Smith, author of Name All the Animals “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta "The deeply personal memoir examines our obsession with female violence while telling the account of her mother’s murder in the small town of Bridgton, Maine. It’ll give you chills." —Hello Giggles "[Perry] wonderfully evokes her mother even as she struggles to unravel the mystery of her death...Perry’s memoir is a testament to one child’s ability to survive the unspeakable, one woman’s ability to recapture what was lost, and a fascinating small-town mystery with breathtaking revelations at the end." —Publishers Weekly, starred review  "In an accomplished debut memoir, a daughter struggles to understand the life of her mother, who was murdered when the author was 12... deft pacing and vivid portraits result in an absorbing mystery and a forthright memoir of abiding grief." —KIRKUS REVIEWS

Praise for After the Eclipse "In an accomplished debut memoir, a daughter struggles to understand the life of her mother, who was murdered when the author was 12... deft pacing and vivid portraits result in an absorbing mystery and a forthright memoir of abiding grief." —KIRKUS REVIEWS “After The Eclipse is a tragedy set in motion by the vicious murder of a plucky young woman, the author’s mother. It’s a tender elegy for her too, and for the life she made with and for her daughter. Crystal Perry was much more than a victim, and Sarah Perry gives her vibrant life here. She does the same for the small, working class Maine town they both grew up in: the woes passed down through generations; the feelings (rage and guilt, grief), acted out but mostly unspoken. Perry writes with unerring power and hard-won wisdom.” —Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Negroland: A Memoir “What strikes me so strongly about this excellent memoir is that—considering the subject matter—the writer was able to organize it at all.  It’s sometimes disarmingly astute, and what it says about the ties that bind, at the same moment they sometimes get stretched way beyond capacity, elaborates not just this singular drama, but provides a painful , and wincingly real, statement about class in America.” —Ann Beattie, award-winning author of The State We’re In: Maine Stories, The New Yorker Stories, and more “After the Eclipse, Perry’s beautifully wrought account of her mother’s murder, is a profoundly important book. In this gripping tale of the search for the killer, Perry examines the issues her mother faced in her brief life: poverty, the search for home and, most importantly, the deadly and all-too-common issue of violence against women.  Part memoir, part true crime, Eclipse is a clear-eyed, captivating portrait of a life cut short. With this book, Perry writes her mother back into the world.” —Alison Smith, author of Name All the Animals “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta

Praise for After the Eclipse “What strikes me so strongly about this excellent memoir is that—considering the subject matter—the writer was able to organize it at all.  It’s sometimes disarmingly astute, and what it says about the ties that bind, at the same moment they sometimes get stretched way beyond capacity, elaborates not just this singular drama, but provides a painful , and wincingly real, statement about class in America.” —Ann Beattie, award-winning author of The State We’re In: Maine Stories, The New Yorker Stories, and more “After the Eclipse, Perry’s beautifully wrought account of her mother’s murder, is a profoundly important book. In this gripping tale of the search for the killer, Perry examines the issues her mother faced in her brief life: poverty, the search for home and, most importantly, the deadly and all-too-common issue of violence against women.  Part memoir, part true crime, Eclipse is a clear-eyed, captivating portrait of a life cut short. With this book, Perry writes her mother back into the world.” —Alison Smith, author of Name All the Animals “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta

A Barnes & Noble Discover Pick “After The Eclipse is a tragedy set in motion by the vicious murder of a plucky young woman, the author’s mother. It’s a tender elegy for her too, and for the life she made with and for her daughter. Crystal Perry was much more than a victim, and Sarah Perry gives her vibrant life here. She does the same for the small, working class Maine town they both grew up in: the woes passed down through generations; the feelings (rage and guilt, grief), acted out but mostly unspoken. Perry writes with unerring power and hard-won wisdom.” —Margo Jefferson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Negroland: A Memoir “What strikes me so strongly about this excellent memoir is that—considering the subject matter—the writer was able to organize it at all.  It’s sometimes disarmingly astute, and what it says about the ties that bind, at the same moment they sometimes get stretched way beyond capacity, elaborates not just this singular drama, but provides a painful , and wincingly real, statement about class in America.” —Ann Beattie, award-winning author of The State We’re In: Maine Stories, The New Yorker Stories, and more “After the Eclipse, Perry’s beautifully wrought account of her mother’s murder, is a profoundly important book. In this gripping tale of the search for the killer, Perry examines the issues her mother faced in her brief life: poverty, the search for home and, most importantly, the deadly and all-too-common issue of violence against women.  Part memoir, part true crime, Eclipse is a clear-eyed, captivating portrait of a life cut short. With this book, Perry writes her mother back into the world.” —Alison Smith, author of Name All the Animals “Sarah Perry’s book is smooth, beautiful and breathtaking. I can’t quite get over it—her mastery of the language, the narrative, and the landscape of the devastated heart.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost and Sparta "The deeply personal memoir examines our obsession with female violence while telling the account of her mother’s murder in the small town of Bridgton, Maine. It’ll give you chills." —Hello Giggles "[Perry] wonderfully evokes her mother even as she struggles to unravel the mystery of her death...Perry’s memoir is a testament to one child’s ability to survive the unspeakable, one woman’s ability to recapture what was lost, and a fascinating small-town mystery with breathtaking revelations at the end." —Publishers Weekly, starred review  "In an accomplished debut memoir, a daughter struggles to understand the life of her mother, who was murdered when the author was 12... deft pacing and vivid portraits result in an absorbing mystery and a forthright memoir of abiding grief." —KIRKUS REVIEWS

SARAH PERRY holds an MFA in nonfiction from Columbia University and was publisher of Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art. She received a writers’ fellowship from the Edward F. Albee Foundation and a Javits Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education.