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Summary: A strong indictment of the Moons and the Unification church.
Review: Nansook Hong's book is anything but sensationalistic -- as an abused wife, her story is horrific, and as a disillusioned disciple of the Unification Church, her account is disciplined and thorough. In no way is she spiteful towards the family who abused her so terribly, and that in and of itself is remarkable. A valuable look inside a cult that has profited handsomely by exploiting the poor and vulnerable throughout its history.
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Summary: Rev. Moon: A Life in Diametric Opposition to His Teachings
Review: Nansook Hong's insider account of life under the same roof as Sun Myung Moon and his wife and children reveals the magnitude of the fraud perpetrated by Moon, who teaches his followers to remain totally abstinent until they are married by him. Even after marriage they must often endure additional waiting periods, undergo a bizarre sexual ritual (the "3-Day Ceremony") and put up with lengthy separations from their spouses, all at the express commandment of Sun Myung Moon. They regard these deprivations as virtuous and a necessary part of building the Kingdom of Heaven. But, as Nansook Hong reveals in this devastating tell-all account, Sun Myung Moon does not live up to his own teachings. He has frequent affairs, which he rationalizes as "providential", that is, mandated by God. He tolerates the same behavior in his children and merely seeks to conceal it from public knowledge. He forbids his followers from using drugs, yet turns a blind eye to his own children's drug abuse. He frequently visits gambling casinos in Las Vegas and claims that somehow by doing so he is spiritually elevating the other gamblers. Nansook Hong's brave book tears away the facade and reveals the rot at the core.
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Summary: A fascinating account of life with the "son of the Messiah."
Review: Nansook Hong's is a compelling account of her life as the longsuffering wife of Hyo Jin Moon, Reverend Sun Myung Moon's eldest son. The book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the psychology of religion, or in the plight of batterred women. Don't be put off by negative reviews from members of Reverend Moon's Unification Church. As a former Unificationist myself, I especially recommend this book to anyone who is connected with the Unification movement in any way. Those of us who have witnessed the violent outbursts of certain members of the Moon family firsthand will have no trouble in recognizing the truth of Nansook's account. The Unification Church is not an entirely evil organization, but it has more than its share of problems, and it has been sweeping them under the carpet for far too long. I hope that Nansook's book will open the members' eyes and help bring about much-needed changes. Nansook has been greatly wronged by Reverend Moon and his movement. I hope that they will be big enough to concede as much. I was sickened by the hostile campaign launched against Nansook by the church following her departure, but I understand that this ill-advised campaign had apparently not been approved by Reverend Moon himself. I like to think that Reverend Moon is a sincere man, even if his theology is unsound. I congratulate Nansook on her escape and on her willingness to tell the truth, and I wish her well in her new life.
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Summary: The Dark Side of the Moons
Review: Pay no attention to the negative criticisms by those who are obviously Moonies. This is should be required reading. Nansook Hong had the courage to endure and to finally escape the clutches of this dangerous cult led by the Korean flake who thinks he's God. Not only is it run by one of the worlds most selfish and greediest families, they stand to gain even more under the President's Faith-Based program. Your tax dollars at work.
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Summary: The Dark Side of the Moons
Review: Pay no attention to the negative criticisms by those who are obviously Moonies. This is should be required reading. Nansook Hong had the courage to endure and to finally escape the clutches of this dangerous cult led by the Korean flake who thinks he's God. Not only is it run by one of the worlds most selfish and greediest families, they stand to gain even more under the President's Faith-Based program. Your tax dollars at work.
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Summary: one-sided account, so what?
Review: reviewers criticise the book for being one-sided and cite thefact that the moonism has still millions of followers to show that thestory must be unbalanced and one-sided, this totally missed the point, in the 60s and 70s chairman mao of china had many many more fervent followers than rev moon, including highly intelligent men and women in the west, yet no serious scholars and historians will now maintain that there is anything good and beneficial to the country in mao's doctrines (if ever they are consistent or intelligible) and in what he did, the truth is, many truly intelligent people could believe in and do extremely stupid things, in recounting facts, nansook has provided valuable primary materials for people to assess moonism, and if moonism declines as a result, it deserves such fate
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Summary: THANKS TO THE AUTHOR
Review: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Nansook, for your courage and effort to write this revealing book! I hope it will open the eyes of those who have already been damaged enough by the Unification Church. Thank you, Madeleine, for your important contribution.
Rating: 
Summary: An insiders view
Review: The book is a mostly factual account of Nan-Sook Hong's life in the early Unification Church and later as the wife of Hyo-Jin Moon, the son of the founders. I know the same house and the same people she mentions in the book for more than 20 years. My emotion at the end of the book was profound sadness, because tragically the stories she relates about her husband are mostly true. There are unfortunately other tragidies. Contrary to her conclusion that she is getting over it and getting on with her life Ms. Hongs book itself is evidence that she is living as much in the past as in the future. Like others who have made being against the Unification Church a Cottage Industry she still makes money because of her connection to the church whether it is her settlement of well over $150,000 a year she receives or other income from royalties and speaches. If she was totally candid she would have mentioned this. Also the book would have been more credible if she explained why so many join and remain members of the Unification Church. I know Rev and Mrs Moon and Hyo-Jin personally. I have received the scoldings like she received and have even physically confronted Hyo-Jin. Hyo-Jin has serious problems and the worst tragedy of the book is that Nan-Sook failed to understand that his parents have suffered as much as she did.
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Summary: What is God really asking me to do?
Review: This book is a very sad and tragic account of Nansook's personal experience with a family she was reared to regard as holy. It is also a story of her parents and how they came to be estranged from their own faith in a religion for which they sacrificed very, very much, including the care of their own children. It is very sad to think of a family, of individuals, devoting so much of themselves to an all-encompassing faith for almost all of their lives, and then finding a disillusionment so profound to cause them to abandon everything they previously found sacred. What are the repercussions for this? Only time will tell. I wish Nansook and her family well and hope she can enjoy her life now. However, leaving the Unification Church is no guarantee that life will be great or any better than it was, or stay that way if it initially seemed so. Life outside of the Church is just as strange as life inside it. The book isn't finished. Otherwise, the writing style of this book is clearly geared towards sensationalism and obviously not only Nansook's input. I wonder why the co-author is not credited? It is also clear that Nansook is struggling to discredit the Moons (and justify her own involvement with them) by washing all that they do in the dirty water and crediting them with nothing. This does not ring true. The book isn't finished.
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Summary: AMAZING INSIGHT INTO DR. MOON
Review: THIS BOOK IS AN AMAZING INSIGHT INTO DR. MOON, HIS FAMILY AND HIS CHURCH. I DON'T THINK THERE HAS EVER BEEN SUCH A CLEARER LOOK INTO ANY BELIEF SYSTEM, FOUNDERS OF A CHURCH OR EVEN CHURCH ORGANIZATION AS "THE SHADOWS OF THE MOONS". THE AUTHOR PORTRAYS A TRUTHFUL ACCOUNT AS SHE SAW IT FROM HER PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND GIVES A VIEW AND UNDERSTANDING BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INTO DR. MOONS POSITION AND FAMILY. THE READER IS TRANSPORTED AND IS ABLE TO SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER THRU HER EYES AND THAT IS ALSO A RARE OCCURRENCE. TO ME IT IS LIKE A MODERN DAY VERSION OF "PILGRIM'S PROGRESS" THE AUTHOR BEING CHRISTIAN.
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