Familial addictions passed down from generations are hard to break, as Damoff portrays throughout this story. It’s a love story, set within a heartbreaking reality that the one you love the most may actually hurt you. The life journeys this family experiences are both hopeful and hopeless at times and you end up wishing them all the best.
I liked the plot and characters well enough, yet found the story lagging at times. The themes of addiction, in its many forms, were difficult to get through, but as a whole The Bright Years is well done.

I love this book! It’s literary fiction/family drama at it’s finest. I was invested from the very beginning of the book and couldn’t put it down. I cannot believe it’s a debut novel. Absolute perfection from start to finish. Bravo Sarah Damoff! I look forward to reading your future work.

This is a story of family, addiction, secrets and love but it’s also so much more than that. I can’t put into words why this book is so heartbreakingly beautiful. The complex characters will stay with me for a very long while.

3.5/5. I enjoyed this. This was a short, easy family saga that had some very emotional moments. However, I didn't love the pacing. The first 2/3 or so were well paced and then the last third seemed to go by very quickly. I wasn't super interested in Ryan's POV either and would have rather only experienced Lillian and Jet's POVs.

Incredible debut literary fiction for fans of emotional multigenerational family sagas! The story follows a Texas family, Ryan, Lillian, and their daughter Georgette, through several decades as they grapple with addiction, grief, strained family relationships, abuse, and long held secrets. I loved the pacing, the three perspectives the story is told from, and the character arcs. The writing is engaging and beautiful with so many poignant quotes. Despite some of the heavy themes, this is also a story of second chances, first loves, and finding the courage to take risks. I love an emotional character driven read that I can delve into and this delivered on all fronts. I read this in a day and a half so there are plenty of interesting plot points that keep this book moving forward at the perfect pace. I am excited to read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review..

💓👐BOOK REVIEW👐💓

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🥰Thank you so much to @simonbooks for the gifted book!

📖Title: The Bright Years
✍️Author: Sarah Damoff
📅Pub date: April 22, 2025

📃If you're looking for books to add to your April TBR, you absolutely must add THE BRIGHT YEARS by Sarah Damoff 🔆

🔆I was sold immediately when this book was marketed for fans of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo. I think those were accurate comparisons, and I'd also find it fitting to add Tracey Lange to the list!

💓This story blew me away. It started out quiet and slow and kept building and building along the way. With every chapter, I was more invested than the last. I really don't remember a book having such dramatic character building in a very long time. By the end, I was literally sitting there stunned in silence.

🔆At its core, this is a family drama covering four generations of messy and imperfect people making messy and imperfect choices. The emotions, the reactions, and the consequences were brutally human and in line with reality.

💓I really don't want to say much because I think it's best if you go in with as little information as possible in this case. You won't regret reading this one!

⚠️This story deals with heavy topics such as addiction, miscarriage, etc.

Really beautiful. Loved the three perspectives. Definitely almost shed a tear which is why it can't quite get five stars - if I cried it totally would have.

Y'all. Read this book.

It's almost impossible to believe The Bright Years is Sarah Damoff's debut novel. It's a beautifully written, deeply moving book that focuses on how addiction and dysfunction reverberate through generations of a Texas family.

I read this astonishing book all in one sitting, on a plane, hoping fellow passengers would not notice my tears.

Just read it. That's all.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy.

A powerful story about addiction and its impact on every member of a family over four generations. Tough themes to read and reflect upon, but the book is ultimately redemptive and uplifting. Strong female characters throughout - I especially loved the grandmother. Perfect for fans of dysfunctional family dramas - if you liked Mary Beth Keane's books, you'll like this.

All started Bright for the Bright family, but Ryan and Lillian both have a secret. Secrets that could tear them apart. Their daughter, Georgette (Jet) comes of age watching the ups and downs as their marriage falters, but their love never dies. Torn apart by tragedy, Jet returns to her roots, putting the pieces of the puzzle together to find out what truly matters most. A story full of compassion and grace, this debut is heartbreakingly beautiful. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book absolutely ruined me. It was so devastatingly beautiful from beginning to end, and I am fairly certain that everyone who reads this will cry at least once, so please prepare yourself emotionally! I don't want to say too much because I actually think this story is best if you go in blind (personally, I almost feel like the synopsis gives away a little too much), but this is going to be a book that changes your life. What an incredible debut!

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Sarah Damoff for this ARC!!

If you are a fan of multi-generational family stories, I highly recommend checking out the Bright Years, which does so many elements of this genre in a brilliant way. Dealing with themes of family secrets, addiction, and adoption, The Bright Years is an excellent family drama.

This book blew me away! It's an incredible debut novel written so well in 3 POVs.

I sobbed my way through this family's experiences with loss, grief, and addiction. It's a heavy read but also touching and uplifting. I adored the main characters as well as the supporting characters. You can tell this was written with love.

Publishing April 22, 2025 - don't miss it! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader's copy!

I am a sucker for twisty, multi-generational family dramas and this one had me by the throat. I devoured it in fewer than 24 hours.

This is the story of Lillian and Ryan Bright, two people who fall in love but despite their best intentions cannot stay together. Their respective upbringings have irreparably shaped the ways in which they think, act, react and parent their daughter. We see glimpses across multiple timelines and learned how each generation was raised.

This is a story of addiction, love, grief, friendship, but above all generational trauma and how despite our best efforts it can be nearly impossible to unlearn the maladaptive behaviors we were exposed to as children. But, this is also a story of breaking cycles and not allowing them to dictate our futures.

Check trigger warnings first, but this is an incredible debut. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

I actually enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. It had great character development and a strong storytelling aspect. I highly recommend and enjoyed reading this book.

Oh this is exactly the kind of story I love reading about. Broken people (and aren't all people broken, really) who find each other, find happiness, find a way to wreck it, cause trauma on their kids who grow up to cause other trauma. People who try hard and find moments to redeem themselves and then make mistakes again and then work hard again. Rinse and repeat.

Great sadness, big joys, unexpected surprises, finding our way back to each other, forgiving some too often and other not enough. Trying and trying and trying again. This book is so beautiful that you will love the moments you spend with it.

with gratitude to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

All the freaking stars!

How is this a debut? To say that Damoff nailed this multi-generation family story is putting it mildly. This is such an exquisite book. It tackles extremely tough topics such as grief and alcoholism but in such a way that the reader is left with hope. I often have to take breaks from books with heavy topics but I could not step away from the Bright family’s journey. Please read this one … this book deserves to be everywhere right now. ❤️

I really enjoyed the format of this book as we follow the a family. It begins as a love story between Ryan and Lillian in such a beautiful way. It then progresses for much of their lives showing the struggles and trials that this human existence is. I think it's best to go in blind on this book and know very little about it. I feel like the synopsis gives too much away that I actually found for myself as I read the book without the synopsis.

This book is full of heart, love, hurt, anger, frustration, commitment, and more. I loved watching this little family navigate life. By the end I was full of appreciation for how the story was handled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the gifted e-arc.

As readers, we all long for a well written story with a redemption arc; a book that tackles some of society's most heart-wrenching issues - addiction, adoption; a book that shares a viewpoint but does not hammer the reader over the head with dogma or ideology. The Bright Years is that book. While the content is challenging and at times, so sad as to be almost - but not quite - overwhelming - the prose flows, the inner lives of the 3 narrators are effortlessly conveyed; and the pace of the story makes it hard to put down. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Shuster for the DRC

Well, this book well and truly wrecked me. This family saga follows four generations, and we get to know these characters deeply. We see them experience love, pain, loss, grief, happiness, fear, hope, addiction, death, life... It's beautifully written and though I wish each character had a more distinct voice (we get 3 POVs), I was so enthralled by this, I didn't really mind that in the end.

It's the kind of story that makes you reflect on your own family, and the way you're going through life, and appreciate things a little bit more. It was very moving and engaging, and there are so many things to relate to. I really came to love these fictional people and I'm glad I spent time with them. What a debut novel!

What an absorbing debut. A hard but redemptive story about, love, family, addiction, forgiveness...basically being human. Loved the structure and character development- you truly felt you knew them. Bravo!