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Upward Bound alumni shares story with listeners

3 mins read
Upward Bound alumni Sarah Perry has recently published her memoir, “After the Eclipse.”

FARMINGTON – An Upward Bound graduate shared her story with listeners this weekend, revisiting her old stomping grounds on the University of Maine at Farmington campus to read from her recently published memoir.

Sarah Perry, who attended UB at UMF in 1998 and ’99, has found not just literary success with the publication of her new book “After the Eclipse,” but has also made a lasting tribute to the memory of her mother. As a pre-teen living in Bridgton, Perry’s life took a shocking turn when her mother was murdered in their home. Perry, who had been sleeping at the time, woke to the sounds of her mother’s cries in the next room over.

Now, 24 years later, Perry has published the full story- not just of that one horrifying night- but of all the horrifying nights that women across the globe face.

“I’m really resistant to the word closure. It implies that it’s over and that you’re just suppose to feel better,” Perry told the audience at Lincoln Auditorium during the question and answer portion of her reading. “A lot of people are disappointed by the justice system. You still have to go home afterwards, and you still have your grief. And there is still the epidemic of violence against women in America. I’m happy the perpetrator is in jail, but it doesn’t change anything in our society.”

Perry explained the difficult process of sifting through hundreds of hours of memories, facts and interviews that were required for her retelling. Everything from coming across bagged evidence of her mother’s clothing at the police department, to the emotional task of asking friends and family for their input.

“I had to talk to people I hadn’t talked to since I was 12. A lot of people were freaked out and it was hard to ask that of them. Other parts of the writing process got easier, but that never did,” Perry said.

Perry now lives in Brooklyn, after graduating from Dirigo High School then Davidson College and Columbia University, earning her MFA in nonfiction. Perry said writing her memoir helped her make more sense of bother her mother’s life, as well as her own, stressing to the audience that the story is as much about her mother’s days spent alive as they are about that one night.

“I feel so grateful when readers say to me ‘I just love your mom!’. I got to spend a lot more mental time with her than ever before,” Perry said.

“After the Eclipse” can be bought on Amazon here. More about Sarah Perry can be found on her website here.

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1 Comment

  1. The story of Chrystal Perry’s murder in Bridgeton, Maine, and the effect it had on her daughter, Sarah, is a sad one. I’ve known about the story for a long time. It has been on the Forensic Files television series. The book is both a memoir of Chrystal and a true crime account. The crowd, probably a hundred plus people, who came to Lincoln Auditorium last night, were well rewarded with Sarah’s reading and the chance to purchase hardcover copies of “After the Eclipse” plus the opportunity for her to sign them. The book was published about three weeks ago. I ordered it from an Illinois bookseller last week, and received it yesterday. It was a huge surprise to me to learn Thursday that she would be in Farmington last night for a reading. I had read some of the work on line and found the book was very very well written. It flows right along. I recommend it.

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