Fingernail Moon: The True Story of a Mother's Flight to Protect Her Daughter

by Janie Webster

In January 1990, Janie Webster packed a few possessions and left San Francisco in the dark of night with her six-year-old daughter. She was certain of only one thing: She had to protect her child, even if it meant giving up everything and living life on the run.

Janie Webster had an enviable marriage, a beautiful child, and enjoyable work. But when she discovered that her husband had sexually abused their daughter, everything changed. She began divorce proceedings, but the court allowed unsupervised visits between father and daughter. Then her husband was diagnosed with AIDS. Terrified that he could further abuse and even infect their daughter, Janie Webster knew that she had to flee.

Mother and daughter embarked on a five-year journey, traveling to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, England, and Ireland. Although often discouraged, they found within their physical journey a deep spiritual meaning. With God's guidance, they established and reestablished new lives in the countries where they stayed, finding people they could trust, who provided them with friendship and assistance.  With no way to prove the validity of their story, they learned not only to trust but also to be trusted. Despite the threat of deportation and imprisonment hanging over them, as well as their weariness from the strains of traveling, they sensed the hand of God engineering their safe passage.

This chronicle of their fugitive years is a compelling journal of courage in the face of uncertainty, and the power of faith. It challenges us to ask ourselves how far we would go to keep our children safe and encourages us to listen to them and find the strength to act on their behalf.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[E]

This is an amazing story. Janie Webster used to be a professor at EKU and I had the privilege to hear her tell this story briefly at last years Take Back the Night. She is a great story teller and obviously a strong woman.

The only issue I had with this book is that it's more like Christian literature than memoir. A third to a half of the book is about her relationship with God or her faith. This is fine with me and I finished the book but towards the end she started getting a bit preachy.

[Paula Koehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult read due to the nature of the book but also because of their movements back and forth every few weeks. Lots of bible passages which the author found encouraging...I need to read the bible more!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on a true story! I loved this book. I got to meet the author and her daughter

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I couldn't put this down and stayed up half the night finishing it in one go. On the run from ex-husband who had abused their 5-yr-old daughter, this woman roamed the world for five years until the father died. I found it odd that the main reason she wanted to go into hiding was because she feared the daughter would get AIDS from being sexually abused. Was it not enough simply that the daughter was being molested??!! If the father hadn't died, would they have been able to continue in hiding until the daughter reached age 18? doubtful, maybe.

[Jennifer]

This is such an encouraging book and I read it at such a pivotal time in my life. I've read it over and over again and am still amazed.