By the Light of the Crescent Moon

When Ailsa Keppie puts on the hijab for the first time, it solidifies her commitment to her new, chosen religion. She gives up the lights and action of the circus for the position of wife and mother, learns Arabic, and moves to Morocco. A new mother living in a strange country, under foreign rules, Ailsa experiences isolation and racism, as well as romance and sisterhood, in her quest to fit in with her new community. She welcomes another wife into her marriage hoping to experience the peace and joy of a pious life. As the story progresses, cracks appear in her relationships. Things are not as blissful as Ailsa would have others believe. We are drawn into her inner struggle, often seeing the folly of her choices, but championing her to prevail. Torn between her inner voices of duty, shame, longing, and hope, she is determined to find the light that will get her through darkening times. Ailsa's story is easily recognizable by women who have dimmed their light in order to survive. For any woman who has faced similar constraints of marriage, religion, or culture, Ailsa's story will help bring clarity and a sense of knowing she is not alone.This is the story of a woman struggling to reclaim her own power and identity after making life-altering decisions at the age of twenty-five. By the Light of the Crescent Moon is Keppie's eighteen-year odyssey that begins when she dons a burka for the first time and truly commits to embracing her husband's culture. The more she tries to find herself in her new role, the more she loses who she is and becomes enveloped by the all-consuming nature of her new life. Keppie wrote her memoir after returning to Canada as a way to process what was a difficult period in her life after she talked to friends and family about her experience and they wanted to know more about it-- why she became a Muslim. Why she wore a burka. How did it feel? How could she move to Morocco, so far away from family and friends? What was it like for her husband to have another wife? She realized that it was an unusual experience and people wanted to know more about it. She also felt a need to go back and find meaning from the struggle she'd had over those years. Uncertain of why she converted in the first place but remembering the draw to Islam as part of finding a sense of belonging. Putting on hijab meant that suddenly she was a member of a community. She remembers it being a spiritual connection entwined in a love story, which made it all the more difficult for her to get out.