Earth to Moon

A Memoir

By: Moon Unit Zappa

Narrated by: Moon Unit Zappa

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

From Moon Unit Zappa, the daughter of musical visionary Frank Zappa, comes a memoir of growing up in her unconventional household in 1970s Los Angeles, coming of age in the Hollywood Hills in the 1980s as the “Valley Girl,” gaining momentum as an accidental VJ on a new network called MTV, and finding herself after losing her father, then her mother, and the testing of her most important relationships.

How can you navigate life as the “normal” child of an extraordinary creative? What is it like to live in a hothouse of individuality that on one hand fosters freedom of expression, and on the other tamps down the basic desires of a child for boundaries and affection? Should you call your parents Frank and Gail from birth?

For Moon Unit Zappa, processing a life so punctuated by the whims of genius, the tastes of popular culture, the calculus of celebrity, and the nature of love, was at times eviscerating, at times illuminating—but mostly deeply confusing. Yes, this is a book about growing up in the shadow of Frank Zappa. Moon and her family were a source of constant curiosity, for their unique names and for their father’s reputation as a musical savant and fierce protector of the First Amendment, even though he was never a commercial success.

Searching for her own path, first as her father’s inadvertent musical collaborator and public sidekick with their surprise mega radio hit, then as an actress, an artist, a spiritual person, a wife and mother, Moon Unit calculates ever-changing equations of fame, family, death and ultimately legacy when dealt the shocking news that Gail’s will established an unequal distribution among the remaining, tight-knit Zappas, catalyzing a quest for meaning and redemption.

With love, humor, and humility, Earth to Moon reminds us that every family is faced with problems that are unique to their particular makeup, but the journey to growing into yourself with grace is as universal as it gets.

©2023 Moon Unit Zappa (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Moon Gets It

I’m so grateful to have listened to this raw, emotional, and validating memoir. I bawled, I giggled, and I think I’ll revisit her writing often. This one resonates BIG TIME. Thank you, Moon.

Perfect. Brilliant. Hilarious. (&made me cry in a good way)

Earth to Moon is officially the greatest audiobook that I've ever experienced. Beautifully written, excellent story-telling, and the author reading her own words is such a joy. Honestly could not put this down, and will be buying a hard copy so that I can read it again & again.
Moon Zappa's joyously dark memoirs are full of weirdo celebrities, obnoxious family members, and dates from hell. She takes us along for the ride, as our besty tour guide, navigating us through the good &the horrific, leading us safely with a clear, honest, and loving voice.
I can't wait to hear more from her in the future!

Such a good story!

I'm on my third or fourth time listening to Moon Zappa's memoir EARTH TO MOON. Such an engaging story, so well told, with real and raw emotion. Loved it so much that I recommended it to my daughters and several friends. 👍👍

Devastatingly Beautiful

Midway through the book, as a teen living at home, she is on a talk show describing an incident at home that she thinks will be perceived by the television audience as quirky and funny. At the commercial break, the host says to her, in horror, "This is child abuse." Something we readers have been hoping the author will realize since Chapter One.

Raw and devastating and honest and funny. As with so many Audible books, hearing the author read her story adds such richness. Highly recommended for anyone. But teenage girls in particular may discover a kindred spirit in Moon Zappa. Very highly recommended.

Heartbreaking Gen X Memoir That’s Worth a Listen

A must listen for any Gen Xer who grew up in a dysfunctional family. A well written and fascinating story of the burden of fame and being raised in a family centered on hero worship. You really feel for the author.

Good story/annoying narration

Her story is very well written. I usually enjoy listening to memoirs read by the author, but I could barely abide how often she went into an almost crying voice that seemed like bad acting. She would go into this voice for only one sentence sometimes, so it was distracting and seemed disingenuous. Highly annoying. Read the book. It’s good. Don’t listen. Her narration would have been great (she sounds a lot like Molly Shannon) if she had just read it normally and let her words do the talking rather than trying hard to emote so much. Frankly, it made me question the veracity of the entire narrative.

Rock star parents

Holy moly what a thing to go through as a child. The internal struggles Moon went through. She handled everything amazingly well.

Honesty Honesty Honesty!

Talk about digging deep! Way to go Moon Unit!

I’m experiencing much the same in my family and a Mother who is hellbent on showing me how much I really mean to her! She’s “Loving” me to death! Lol!

I too will get nothing in the day she dies and she’ll be leaving everything to my sister, proving her selfish and insolent behavior.

The entire book had me feeling your pain!

Beautiful work Moon

I felt like you not only told your story and owned your truth and your self awareness and heart that in some way you reflected my own truth and heart back to me. Thank you for sharing and having the courage to be you. Beautiful

Moon’s honesty helped me feel like I was there with her as things happened to her.

I have been fascinated by Frank Zappa and his family since I first heard him and especially after I read Pamela Des Barre’s book. This confirmed a lot of things I assumed about Frank’s larger than life persona but I ended the story with empathy for all of his children who were put into an impossible situation