The book focuses on the efforts of the Near East Relief (NER) to help survivors of the Armenian Genocide, but tells in a way to make the story appropriate for young readers.

Based on the real experiences of the orphans of the Armenian Genocide, including the author’s great-grandparents, Under the Light of the Moon is a story of hope and survival during a dark time in world history.

The book is set in 1924, the end of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey, and ten-year-old Lucine has found safety at an orphanage in Greece. She doesn’t know if her parents have survived and wonders if she’ll ever see them again, and she isn’t alone: there are hundreds of thousands of orphans just like Lucine struggling to survive, their stories making headlines worldwide. In response, the United States NER, which provides food, clothing, shelter and safety for these children.

Jackie Coogan, one of America’s most famous child actors at the time, uses his celebrity power to support NER, but soon realizes that there are some things in life that are out of our control. Lucine appreciates the help of these kind strangers, but there’s still something missing: more than anything, she wishes to be reunited with her family. As time passes, her future becomes more and more uncertain.

The true events of young Jackie’s volunteer work remind that anyone — no matter how young or old — can make a difference in the world.

Michael is an Armenian-American activist, educator and writer who was born and raised in Rhode Island. She received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Rhode Island and a master’s degree in education from New York University. She has taught at the elementary, middle school and college levels in Massachusetts and New York and currently lives in Los Angeles where she is an administrator for a local school district. Michael is also on the ANCA-WR Education Committee and works to help schools implement genocide and human rights curriculums. Her most memorable trip was when she found her great-grandparents’ former homes in historic Armenia, which is now part of eastern Turkey.

For more information, visit lauramichael.net. The book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, among other vendors.

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