Moon In Full: A Coming of Age and Coming Out Story

Moon in Full, a contemporary coming-of-age story, shines light on one young man’s search for truth and compassion in a complicated era as it unwinds the deep-seated challenges we all face finding our authentic voice and true identities. Author Marpheen Chann’s heart-warming journey weaves through housing projects and foster homes; into houses of worship and across college campuses; and playing out in working-class Maine where he struggles to find his place. Adopted into in a majority white community, Chann must reconcile his fears and secret longings as a young gay man with the devoutly religious beliefs of his new family. Chann, a second-generation Asian American, recounts what he has learned, what he has lost, and what he has found during his evolution from a hungry refugee’s son to religious youth to advocate for acceptance and equality.

Praise for Moon in Full

“Moon is Full is a beautifully written, deeply layered and open-hearted story about so many things: beauty, love, pain, loss, reunion, displacement and forgiveness. As Marpheen Chan excavates his personal history with an astounding courage and honesty, he seeks no blame, no villains, no enemies. His desire is only to understand the people he loves: his Cambodian mother and godparents, his adopted Evangelical family, the meaning of his roots in rural Maine and Southeast Asia. I have read hundreds of memoirs but the final pages of Moon is Full truly changed my understanding of how a story—any story—can end.”

—Jaed Coffin, Author of Roughhouse Friday

“The attention to detail and rawness with which Chann writes is commendable and gives the memoir a quality of honesty that can be hard to find. He tackles difficult topics with grace and truth, never shying away from the hard parts.”

—Lydia Simmons, USM Free Press 

“But above all, Moon in Full is a story of hope. Chann’s wise narration carries the reader along through this contemporary coming-of-age story so that we emerge at the end convinced that, in some cases at least, significant trauma need not be the sole determinant of one’s life story.”

—Kathreen Harrison, Amjambo Africa

"Chann, a politician and advocate for Asian and LGBTQIA+ rights, has written a powerful and moving memoir about growing up and learning to embrace his gay identity. The son of a Cambodian refugee, his early years were fraught with chaos due to his mother’s abusive relationships with men and an ever-intensifying loss of his Cambodian identity. Stuck in the foster care system, he lived in a series of homes before being adopted by a white, conservative Christian couple in rural Maine. Struggling with his sense of belonging as an Asian boy in a majority white environment was challenging enough, but, when he realized that he was gay, he made the painful decision to live in the closet. Chann’s memoir is at its strongest when he focuses on his burgeoning sexuality, his memories of his extended Cambodian family, and as he embraces his true self during his college years." —Leah K. Huey, Library Journal

"Only Marpheen Chann could have written this spectacular debut memoir, which conveys everything the world and Americans need to know about identity and the struggles it brings to a young man with a heart full of love and meaning. Moon in Full tackles the urgent issues of the LGBT community, immigration and human rights. It is timely and it is a must-read for everyone.”

—Abdi Iftin, author of Call Me an American

“Moon in Full is a powerful story about the complex intersections of identity, the longing to belong, and the pursuit of what is true. Marpheen's story is on one hand incredibly unique—which makes this a truly compelling account to read—but also intersects, in some way or another with all of our stories.”

— Brandan Robertson, author of Filled To Be Emptied: The Path of Liberation for Privileged People

"Moon in Full, is much more than just a coming-of-age story; it is a remarkably open and honest story of a young man's triumph over adversities most people would refuse to face."

—Bill Bushnell, Kennebec Journal