The Same Moon


Non-Fiction - Memoir
257 Pages
Reviewed on 07/26/2019
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite

The Same Moon by Sarah Coomber is a powerful memoir exploring a broken heart and the journey of one woman towards rebuilding her life after a painful divorce. Twenty-four-year-old Sarah’s marriage ended quickly and badly. All she wants is to be away from home where she can forget her troubles and start life anew. Japan is the ideal place, especially since she’d spent a summer in Japan and even had a romance. So, she takes a job as an English teacher in Japan. But the Japan she expected to see is far from the reality when she arrives. She is isolated in a rural area where no one speaks English. What happens is that she finds herself doing things she never dreamed about, and then developing a romance with a local.

This is a memoir that is inspiring, a story of grit and humanity. The author does an incredible job in exploring the contrast between life in a rural area of Japan and her life back home in Minnesota. I enjoy the wonderful lessons of adapting. The protagonist set out looking for the easiest way to heal, but life threw a completely different reality at her and compelled her to do a lot of inner work and self-transformation. Sarah Coomber writes in a voice that is both strong and compassionate, exploring conflicting emotions as she faces the challenges and the difficult questions life throws at her with clarity. The Same Moon is beautifully written and I enjoyed how the author allowed her vulnerability and her resilience to come across in the narrative.