4.25 - a moving story (and debut!) of a Texan family through the generations

I know you’ve seen this book everywhere and I’m probably not adding a ton to the conversation, but for those of you who MIGHT not have read this yet, I hope this review finds you!

The book is broken up into three narrators and while I was initially surprised, I thought this was a good way of showing the impacts of addiction. It isn’t just one person, or the spouse, but an entire community of people who can be impacted. The author’s decision to pace the book into different narratives, showcased that beautifully. Even without knowing ahead of time that the author was a social worker, you could tell by reading how knowledgeable she is on this topic and she wrote it with care, grace and humanity.

The audiobook narration was fantastic. If I hadn’t had access to the audiobook, I would have loved the book, but the audiobook brings the text to another level emotionally. Especially for someone like me who (thankfully) does not have this experience in my life to draw from. It really helped me connect with addiction and its impacts holistically, which is what makes reading books about different experiences so powerful and transformative.

Overall, I highly recommend this read to everyone (in the format you’re able to access) as it’s one from 2025 you don’t want to miss!

Thank you Simon Books for the gifted arc and Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook!

Wow wow WOW. This book is devastating and hopeful and heartbreaking and beautiful. There are no words for how much I loved it. Side note : as a native Texan, all of the little Texas Easter eggs made it even more special.

A family drama, à la Claire Lombardo, but much more raw and told in three POV styles (similar to Real Americans). I was UGLY crying at 12am for this one, but then, remarkably, had to take a break in the middle after a major plot twist that I did NOT like. However, even while it was sitting unread for weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It is not a light read and absolutely gutted me. But the love that ultimately shines through redeemed it in a really lovely way. I cried so many tears that covered the entire spectrum (happy, devastated, relieved). Do not read unless you’re ready for a big ole cry.

An emotional gut punch. While I found myself occasionally thinking the writing seemed juvenile and not true to how people really speak, the overall story really worked for me. This novel definitely grew on me as it went on, and the ending chapters were masterful.

This absorbing domestic drama spans several decades, following a family as they navigate tragedy, joy, and the complex realities of life. Lillian and Ryan meet at their local library, marry after three years, and begin what seems like an idyllic life together. But their relationship is tested when Lily reveals that she became pregnant in college and gave the baby up for adoption. Ryan’s own troubled past—including a childhood shaped by his father’s abuse and alcoholism—soon resurfaces. When Ryan’s drinking spirals and nearly turns violent, he leaves Lily and their young daughter, Georgette, forcing them to rebuild their lives on their own.

Told through alternating points of view between Lily and Georgette, the novel offers a deeply emotional and nuanced exploration of each woman’s experience and the people who shape their lives. I found this story both compelling and engaging. It captures the raw emotions and intricate dynamics of a family confronting life’s challenges with honesty and heart. A standout in the family saga genre.

This was an impressive debut novel and I can't wait to read more from Sarah Damoff. While the subject matter was heavy, this story of love, loss and healing didn't feel oppressive, but hopeful.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

Yeah, so all the reviews about ugly crying are NOT exaggerating friends!! I bawled my every loving eyes out at the end of this dang thing.

I won't rehash the blurb since you can scroll up and read it BUT I will say the unique and beautiful way this author represented abuse, addiction, neglect and generational trauma was nothing short of poetic. We get to see not only the emotional trauma felt by those around an addict but also the internal grief and self hate from the addict himself. TEARS WERE SHED!!!

I have never read a multi POV book done in this way before and it was so interesting! As we follow through four generations of this families story we are giving a different POV in "part" of the book. Like Part 1 (first 1/3 of book) follows one character's POV throughout several decades. Part 2 follows another character for several years. Part 3 follows another character through some of events shown in Part 1 & 2 in a different frame but also rounds out the current timeframe.

I am utterly blown away that this is a debut novel. Congratulations to Sarah on an epic first book!

The Bright Years offers a glimpse into how trauma and addiction trickle down to affect/alter the lives of generations of a family. Even after escaping an abusive marriage to a violent, alcoholic husband, a mother and son will continue to struggle with the disease of alcoholism as the son grows up trying the best he can to stop the generational pain alcohol abuse has inflicted.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters are so lovable. It is definitely a slow burn book. It is comfort reading at its finest. Get ready for the tears.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Audio/E-book

5🌟 - I loved it!

Thank you @simon.audio and @librofm for the #gifted audiobook and @netgalley for the ALC!

This is definitely a contender for a top read of the year! Told in three POV’s and over several decades, this character-driven multi-generational family drama was a memorable one!

It’s hard to believe this is a debut! I devoured it less than a day and wanted more of it 🥹. Addiction, abuse, grief, forgiveness and love are at the forefront of this story. Although it covers a lot of heavy themes it left me with such a tender spot for all the characters despite their flaws. I loved the prose and the author’s storytelling!

Emotional, heart-breaking, and impactful!

When I read the synopsis for “The Bright Years,” I thought, hmm, sounds like a book I’d enjoy. A multigenerational family drama, set in Texas, with a secret child from a previous relationship. It also compared the book to Claire Lombardo’s work, so there was a lot to live up to. And yet “The Bright Years” was more powerful than I could have imagined. Be warned: it’s a heavy read with a main theme of addiction. But I flew through it, hooked on this family’s stories and their highs and lows. The writing was beautiful, and the story even more so. The comparison to Claire Lombardo absolutely held up — no small feat, especially in 288 pages.

Synopsis: “Ryan and Lillian Bright are deeply in love, recently married, and now parents to a baby girl, Georgette. But Lillian has a son she hasn’t told Ryan about, and Ryan has an alcohol addiction he hasn’t told Lillian about, so Georgette comes of age watching their marriage rise and fall.

“When a shocking blow scatters their fragile trio, Georgette tries to distance herself from reminders of her parents. Years later, Lillian’s son comes searching for his birth family, so Georgette must return to her roots, unearth her family’s history, and decide whether she can open up to love for them—or herself—while there’s still time.

“Told from three intimate points of view, The Bright Years is a tender, true-to-life novel that explores the impact of each generation in a family torn apart by tragedy but, over time, restored by the power of grace and love.”

Sarah Damoff’s debut novel, The Bright Years, is a poignant and emotionally resonant exploration of generational trauma, resilience, and the enduring power of love. Spanning over six decades, this multigenerational saga delves into the intricate dynamics of the Bright family, navigating themes of addiction, forgiveness, and the complexities of familial bonds.

The story unfolds through the perspectives of three central characters: Lillian, a bank teller with a concealed past; her husband Ryan, an artist grappling with the shadows of his abusive childhood and battles with alcoholism; and their daughter Georgette ("Jet"), who seeks to understand her family's fractured history. Damoff's choice to employ multiple viewpoints enriches the narrative, offering a comprehensive and intimate portrayal of each character's internal struggles and growth.

At its core, The Bright Years examines how unspoken secrets and unresolved traumas can reverberate through generations. Lillian's decision to give up her first child for adoption, Ryan's descent into addiction, and Jet's quest for identity and healing are interwoven to depict a family striving to break free from the cycles of pain. The novel does not shy away from the harsh realities of its themes but approaches them with sensitivity and depth.

Damoff's prose is both lyrical and grounded, capturing the nuances of her characters' emotional landscapes. Her background in social work informs the authenticity with which she portrays issues like addiction and family dysfunction.The narrative structure, with its temporal shifts and layered storytelling, mirrors the complexities of memory and the nonlinear path to healing.

The Bright Years is a compelling and compassionate narrative that offers a profound look into the enduring impact of family legacies. Sarah Damoff has crafted a novel that is both intimate and expansive, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of love, forgiveness, and the human capacity for resilience.

This is the story of Lillian Wright, who meets Ryan Brighton at the library and quickly thereafter falls in love with him. They marry and proceed to have a daughter, Georgette. But Lillian has a secret past she doesn’t tell Ryan about until well after the Baby’s birth. It sends Ryan spiraling as well as their marriage.

This story goes back and forth in time with this family and their extended families, and is, while heartbreaking at times, the perfect family drama across 4 generations.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff is a debut novel, a multi-generation saga of the impact of addiction and abuse. Damoff is a good writer, I just struggled with not liking the characters, but that may be my stuff.
All in all a good read and 4 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the Bright Years in exchange for an honest review.

It started so slow to the point where I was convinced I wasn’t gonna finish it. I’m glad I did though. It’s heartbreaking and full of so much grief, both for those alive and those dead, but love is complex and it showed a lot of that too.

I can't believe The Bright Years was a debut! Sarah Damoff will surely rip your heart out with this novel, a family novel full of heartbreaking secrets and tragic turns. Ryan and Lillian Bright seem to have the perfect love story but both are harboring secrets from each other. Lillian had a child as a teenager that she gave up for adoption. Ryan struggles with an alcohol addiction. As a child his mother left his father because he was an alcoholic and when his daughter Georgette is born he vows to not be the kind of father he had. Georgette grows up watching her parents relationship rise and fall, as her dad deals with his demons and her mom tries to give Jet the best life she can. Damoff is a beautiful storyteller and you will absolutely fall in love with the Bright family despite their flaws.

This multi-generational family story is told from the POV of three characters. Damoff, a social worker, did a great job exploring the ripple effects of addiction and secrets in the life of a family. Elements of the story were tender and realistic but I had a few frustrations. I would have liked more depth from Lillian. I also have a pet peeve against precocious children in books and everything little Georgette said was so darling and cute and wise...cue the eyeball roll here. And the narrator didn’t help—her voice was too cutesy for my taste. But if you enjoy a family story that grapples with tragedy, heartbreak, love and forgiveness, this will check all those boxes beautifully.

𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:
Spanning four generations, The Bright Years follows Georgette Bright as she grows up in a family shaped by love, loss, and long-buried secrets. She pulls away, only to be drawn back to the complicated, messy beauty of her roots.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
You know that feeling when you start a book and just know it’s going to stay with you forever? Enter The Bright Years. Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, this is a story about family breaking down and building back up, about identity, second chances, and quiet strength. The care and depth Sarah put into these characters is incredible!

The writing is so powerful and effortless. The emotion hits deep — especially the way it touches on not only physical loss, but also losing parts of yourself. It felt so real and relatable, I haven’t stopped thinking about this story or these characters. And if you know me, you know I love a good epilogue. This one spans just two pages, but is somehow perfect. I read it twice and sobbed both times!

𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧:
📍North Texas | 1970-2019
👯‍♀️ 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall + Same As It Ever Was by Clare Lombardo
⭐️ 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟: Flawed characters, immeasurable levels of forgiveness, beautiful moments of peace, love, romance, and understanding
🧡 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨: Highlight every.single.line - then sew each one onto pillows and jump into the pile
🎶 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞: What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish

🎧 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
I usually get lost in multi-POV audiobooks, but the amazing narration made this one easy to follow. Ferdelle Capistrano, Joy Osmanski, and Lee Osorio fully brought these characters to life — you could feel how much heart they put into it. It made the whole experience even more immersive. If you can listen to it, I highly recommend it!

Huge thank you to @SimonBooks and @NetGalley for the ARC of this beautiful, heart-wrenching debut!

I am a sobbing mess.

I've been meaning to write more of my thoughts down on this one, but I'm finding it difficult to put into words how wonderful this book is. It follows the Bright Family: husband Ryan, wife Lillian, and their daughter Georgette (aka Jet). Told over many years, you also get a peek at each of their perspectives throughout the story.

It is beautiful and utterly heartbreaking and emotional and hopeful. It left me crying both with hopefulness as to how this family healed and heartbreak at all that was lost.

Highly recommend you put this one on your reading list. I cannot wait to see what the author has in store for us with her future books.

Loved, loved, loved this book. I fell instantly in love with the characters and id not want the book to end. I appreciated how everyone was flawed and it reflected the lack of perfection in people and no character was on a pedestal. Well written and captivating.