Nansook Hong (born 1966), is the author of the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family'', published in 1998 by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. It gave her account of her life up to that time, including her marriage to Hyo Jin Moon, the first son of

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

founder and leader

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...

and his wife Hakja Han Moon.

Early life and education

Hong was born to prominent members of the

Unification church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

. She was handpicked to be the wife of

's son, Hyo Jin Moon, at age fifteen and during her fifteen years of marriage, she bore five children while attending high school and Barnard College in Manhattan. Hong graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

in 1991.

''In the Shadow of the Moons''

''In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family'' is a 1998,

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

work by Hong and ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' reporter

Eileen McNamara Eileen McNamara (born May 30, 1952) is an American journalist. She is the author of ''Eunice, The Kennedy Who Changed the World,'' to be published by Simon and Schuster, on April 3, 2018. She is chair of the Journalism Program at Brandeis Unive ...

, published by

(then owned by

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

). It has been translated into German and French. Author and investigative reporter

Peter Maass Peter Maass (born 1960) is an American journalist and author. Life and career Maass was born in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked for ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Wa ...

, writing in the ''

New Yorker Magazine ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' in 1998, said that Hong's divorce was the Unification Church's "most damaging scandal", and predicted that her then unpublished book would be a "tell-all memoir". In October 1998, Hong participated in an online interview hosted by ''

TIME Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'', in which she stated: "Rev. Moon has been proclaiming that he has established his ideal family, and fulfilled his mission, and when I pinpointed that his family is just as dysfunctional as any other family - or more than most - then I think his theology falls apart."Life with the Moons: A conversation with Nansook Hong, former daughter-in-law of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon
''

'', October 13, 1998. In her review of the book for ''

Cultic Studies Journal The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is a non-profit anti-cult organization focusing on groups it defines as "cultic" and their processes. It publishes the ''International Journal of Cultic Studies'' and other materials. History ...

'', Marcia Rudin said that due to Nansook Hong's position within the Moon family, her story cannot simply be dismissed by

cult apologist In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

s as an

atrocity tale Atrocity propaganda is the spreading of information about the crimes committed by an enemy, which can be factual, but often includes or features deliberate fabrications or exaggerations. This can involve photographs, videos, illustrations, intervie ...

. Rafael Martinez, the director of Spiritwatch Ministries, a

Christian countercult movement The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries") and individual activists who oppose r ...

organization, writes that the book is a "...painfully honest and personal reflection of her life as a bride to Hyo Jin, Moon's eldest son..."The True Family's Real Values
Rafael Martinez, Director, Spiritwatch Ministries.

Hyo Jin Moon

Hyo Jin Moon (December 3, 1962 – March 17, 2008) was a musician, performer, and recording facility executive and the eldest son of

founder

and his wife

Hak Ja Han Moon Hak Ja Han (Korean: 한학자, Hanja: 韓鶴子) (born January 6, 1943, lunar calendar which is February 10, 1943, Gregorian) is a Korean religious leader. Her late husband Sun Myung Moon was the founder of the Unification movement, also known ...

. He was born in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and grew up in the United States in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

.Staff report (March 18, 2008)
Son of Unification Church founder dies.

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

He served as first president of the World Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles. For ten years Moon was head of the

-owned

Manhattan Center Studios The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballro ...

recording facility in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He served as worldwide president of the student branch of Unificationism, World CARP (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles)., World CARP On March 17, 2008, Moon died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the Moon family home in Hannam-dong in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea. FFWPU North American Headquarters announced that his Seung-hwa (ascension) ceremony was held on March 19, 2008 at Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center, and The Wonjeon (burial) ceremony was held at Paju Wonjeon later that day.Official FFWPU Ascension Ceremony Announcement
/ref>

Notes

References

*Hong, Nansook. (1998). ''In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family''. Little, Brown. () {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Nansook Critics of the Unification Church American people of Korean descent 1966 births Living people Former Unificationists Barnard College alumni