Twelve Moons
A Year Under a Shared Sky
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Twelve Moons
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Narrated by:
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Caro Giles
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By:
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Caro Giles
About this listen
TWELVE MOONS follows a year spent caught between the wild sea and the changing moon of the wide Northumberland skies.
Caro Giles lives on the far edge of the country, with her tribe of daughters: The Mermaid, The Whirlwind, The Caulbearer and The Littlest One. She is at once alone and yet surrounded. Bound by circumstance, financial constraints, illness and the challenges of single motherhood, she has nowhere to go but the fierce landscape that surrounds her.
Over the course of the year, the moon becomes her fellow traveller through dark times, and companion through joyful ones – and even when the sky is wreathed in cloud, the moon is still felt in the pull of the tides.
TWELVE MOONS follows the lunar calendar, each chapter sharing a month and a moon, and shows the simmering power that lies in our often hidden daily lives. A dazzlingly honest memoir that while never turning away from the awkward truths of life, also shows how love will flourish if we can only find a space for ourselves.
Set against windswept beaches and ancient hills, this is a story steeped in nature and landscape. Since our earliest days, mankind has looked up at the moon and seen a story reflected back. Twelve Moons is one of those stories – a book about finding yourself, your voice and a sense that even in the dark of the night, we are never truly alone.
©2023 Caro Giles (P)2023 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"She writes of the everyday act of mothering – of caring & advocating for her children / with such unassuming, humble, raw grace. This is wild mothering like I’ve been longing to read : female identity , how we make our own community, the work still left to do so mothers of all shapes can mother how they see fit. The sea, the city, heartache, sorrow, exuberant joy, birds – and the moon – always the moon – lighting the path ahead. A gorgeous, touching telling of a year of wild mothering – at the edge of place and time – but written straight from the very heart of its author." (Kerri ní Dochartaigh author of Thin Places)
"In this raw, fiercely honest memoir Caro Giles illuminates the madness, magic and mess of motherhood. It is a love letter to the wilds of Northumberland, a song to the pull of the sea and a heartful exploration of what it means to be broken and to fight to piece yourself back together." (Lulah Ellender)
"A hypnotic memoir of motherhood, moving on and making space for the extraordinary magic of every day. Twelve Moons is an exploration of the annihilation and reclaiming of self that so many readers will recognise and return to. Caro Giles' writing exerts a gravitational pull, and her story of entanglement and enchantment, loneliness and love is a gift for these times." (Rebecca Schiller)
What listeners say about Twelve Moons
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 12-11-24
Strength, frailty and beauty
The author’s voice was beautiful to listen to - her honesty of just how hard it is to be a Mother, her description of her surroundings. I found the whole experience of listening to her book compelling, magical mixed with the harsh realities of this World.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-02-23
Intimate, raw and deeply moving
This is an intimate, raw and ultimately inspiring account of the experience of single parenting 4 young daughters. The rhythm of the 12 moon cycles is the backdrop to this moving account of the challenges facing this courageous Mother. The descriptive writing and honest insights make it both disturbing and humbling. Beautifully written and read. A wonderful gift to her children.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nicky D
- 15-02-23
Beautiful
This is a beautifully written memoir, told over 12 months in the life of a mother raising 4 girls on the stunning shores of Northumberland. The author brings this wonderful - and often harsh - landscape to life with great skill, and weaves the ups and downs of life through lockdown and post-lockdown, and the isolation and stress that brought, with tenderness and empathy. An excellent debut from a writer with much promise.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 27-09-24
12 Moons, a memoir
I absolutely loved this book and was sorry when it finished. Caro Giles writes with lyrical prose creating a haunting and poignant memoir. It was incredibly moving and evoked beautifully the Northumberland landscape and the heartbreaking journey to raise 4 daughters on her own whilst desperately trying to get the help her eldest daughter needs. It is visceral, thought provoking and shines a much needed light on the woeful situation for neurodivergent children not only in the school system but in the world. My favourite book not only of the year but of this decade.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-01-24
Captivating
Absolutely loved this book. I listened to it over two days and was sad when it finished. Loved the descriptions of the natural landscape and the important focus on stories under told (single parenting, neurodivergence, everyday courage). A particular encouragement to me having a neurodivergent child. Looking forward to future writing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mad
- 15-07-23
Lunar Perfection
I read/listen to a lot of memoirs and this is by far the best I’ve read this year - in fact the best in a long time. I’d compare it to Amy Liptrots book in terms of beauty and skill but this is Giles’s first book. It’s a beautifully unflinching and honest tale of divorce, grief and lone motherhood, and it raises women’s work with such tenderness and authenticity. It immerses you in the minutiae of the authors life mothering four daughters - especially poignant during the moments ‘the mermaid’ is described. You begin to truly get a feel for what it’s like raising a neurodiverse child.. It hits the mark. It’s not only a startlingly brilliant debut but is full of humility feels very real and relatable. The moon motif creates a sustained melancholy and deeply feminine atmosphere to the voice and narration. I just loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- andrew doughty
- 19-02-23
A beautifully written and beautifully read book
I was immediately captivated, and the sign of a good book, I did not want it to end. The heartfelt and sincere memoirs really touched me on a personal level. I found the reading by the author to be gentle and warm. I will be purchasing a paper copy of this to be treasured alongside my other books.
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- Size guide is wrong
- 10-01-24
really enjoyed
thank you for your brave words and bringing moments of solidarity as I listened and empathised and identified with your experiences
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Miss Alexandra Sheridan
- 31-08-23
Moving and hopeful
Wonderfully written. I loved Caro’s style and honesty. I cannot wait to read more and more of her work
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- Radley
- 10-05-23
A whole-hearted memoir
Beautifully written and told - full of poetic resonance yet grounded in the detail of everyday life, with all its challenges and joys.
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