This was a fast read, but the trauma after trauma made me disconnect with the book. Addiction and loss is a big theme in this book.

Fantastic book. Loved it from start to finish and every character was just so well done. I was left with all the feelings and kept thinking about this. It's the first book I've read in a long time I couldn't stop thinking about.

#thefutureisbright…This story will stay with me for a long time. I had everyone in my family asking me if I was ok because I cried like a baby while reading this emotional family saga. I did not want it to end.

We are all going through something, which is why family dramas appeal so much to me. I am filled with hope love reading about flawed characters who journey through their struggles and eventually find redemption/forgiveness. The author captured tough subject matter in a sensitive manner and developed all of the characters so well. An amazing debut you don’t want to miss out on!

I’ve always loved a good debut novel — especially one that weaves together a family saga spanning across decades with a normal family. The Bright Years delivers exactly that, while also thoughtfully exploring sensitive topics like addiction. Addiction is a recurring and deeply impactful theme in this story, shaping the lives and choices of the characters in meaningful ways.

Sarah Damhoff did a beautiful job creating characters you can truly connect with — people you’ll grow to love, admire, and occasionally feel frustrated by, as their flaws and strengths unfold. The emotional depth and complexity of the relationships make this story both heartfelt and authentic. What I also respect about this book is that the characters did not have anything extraordinary for her to write from such as high powered jobs, wealth, or a unique location. They were just the family next door. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ryan and Lillian Bright have their whole lives together, they are in love and have just had a daughter, Georgette.  However Lillian has been holding onto a secret and is afraid once she reveals her past to Ryan their relationship will never be the same.  Ryan has spent his life trying to avoid being like his alcoholic father; then their little family experiences trauma.  This novel tells the story of a family struggling with addiction, secrets, and grief and then later continues the story with Georgette's life as she gets older and forges her own relationships.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this novel, but it blew me away.  I started in the morning and was done by mid-afternoon because I could not put it down.  I loved the three different POVs as they all added additional depth to the story.  I listened to about 1/4 of this one and the narrator was great, but then I read the rest of it because I was so entranced by the novel.  I have had some amazing reads this year and this one is another to add to that list!

4.5 stars

Thank you to S&S and NetGalley for the ARC to review

4.5 stars / This review will be posted on BookwormishMe.com.


This book definitely brought on a few tears. Shocking and touching moments. Sadness and joy. A lot of life and death piled into a handful of chapters. It was good. Really good.

Lillian has lost both her parents. First her mother to cancer. Then her father to a drunk driver.

Ryan had a father, once. Still does, technically. He’s grown up living alone with his mother Elise. She fled the family home when she’d had one too many nights of her husband’s drunken rages.

One day Ryan has the courage to approach Lillian at the library. From there it’s lunch at a Greek restaurant. Lunch that rolls into dinner, and eventually into a life together. Together they build a gallery to display Ryan’s work as well as other artists. Together they make a baby and a life together. Everything together, until it isn’t.

This novel covers an entire lifetime for each of the characters. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. It covers topics from alcoholism and addiction to love and forgiveness. It is probably one of my favorites of the year so far. It touched me deeply. Especially the forgiveness part.

Worth the read. Along the lines of Hello Beautiful. Hard to believe this is a debut novel.


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Thank you so much to net galley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review. This was an incredible debut from Sarah Damaoff!
What a brilliant family saga spanning the 1950's-2019 ! A story of love, heartbreak, and hope in this multi-generational family. Lillian falls instantly in love with Ryan after suffering heartbreak and loss of her own. Their love story is told amidst grief, addiction and broken hearts. It is a very honest depiction of a family suffering in turmoil but founded in love. Beyond this relationship are the mothers. fathers and best friends who see these characters through this difficult path that they travel.
The stories are told in several parts and voices which was key to the reader to have an understanding and empathy to each person. I loved the Bright family and all who surrounded them. What a beautiful story that I will carry with me. A must read if you enjoy generational literature! Truly Beautiful!!!

This book encompasses so much! Love, hurt, hope, and family. No family or parent is perfect, we all do the best we can with what we have in the time we're in. Thanks #NetGalley #Simon&Schuster

This novel was so unbelievably good. The author handles the topic of alcoholism with so much compassion, empathy and honesty. I was profoundly moved, and so attached to these characters. My heart was broken, but also mended by the love between all of these masterfully crafted characters. Five stars.

Four generations of trama beautifully told by a former social worker, this author handles grief, adoption, miscarriage, alcoholism and multigenerational families so very well. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy for a honest review.

This book was gorgeous, devastating, and truly unforgettable. Following a couple and the people in their lives through the years as they deal with the power of addiction, I read it in 2 days and will be thinking of it for a long time. Loved it and highly recommend.

Ryan and Lillian are in love and have just married and had a daughter, but they both have secrets from each other that their daughter is left to unravel.

This is definitely one of my favorites of 2025 this year. It’s hard to believe this is a debut. Damoff has a way with words. My book journal was filled with quotes that filled my eyes and touched my heart. The book is on the shorter side, but amazingly we get three generations that show how trauma is passed down, and how we heal. I dare you to finish this one without a tear.

“Through choices made and not made, you entered this world like a starburst, and you let me ride your trail of light through the sky.”

The Bright Years comes out 4/22.

The Bright Years is a story about family, told in three parts with a span of about 60 years. It is a story of love and resilience with some very strong characters. Lillian and Ryan Bright have both had a lot of pain in their lives but also so much love for each other. However, their path together is somewhat circular. The first part of the story is told from Lillian’s perspective and part three is told from Ryan’s. Part two is from their daughter Jet’s perspective and she was my favorite character, with her strengths and vulnerability.

This was a quick read but packed a lot of emotion and drama in its pages. I enjoyed the different narratives and the movement of the timeline as the background was revealed. Readers of family sagas will surely enjoy this book as well as the author’s note in the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

4.5

The bright years is about a family bound by generational addiction. The writing is really profound and I found myself saving many passages. I even read one aloud to my daughter about friendships in middle school that I found so poignant and so relevant for her since she's in sixth grade. I loved that the book had rotating perspectives, and by the end, I was just absolutely heartbroken. Ironic to feel a book hangover after reading a book about addiction.

The Bright Years is a beautifully written, deeply impactful debut novel by Sarah Damoff!

The book begins with Lillian’s story, her life filled with tumultuous ups and downs. Through it all, Lillian demonstrates copious amounts of perseverance. Lillian and Ryan’s love story is both touching and heartbreaking at the same time.

When the POV changes and we get to see the story through the eyes of Georgette, we see a shining example of how strong women raise strong women! Facing love, loss and the impact of generational addiction and shaping her into being the person she becomes.

The last POV shift leaves us with Ryan’s perspective. His experience as the son of an alcoholic is incredibly raw and you will find yourself living this right along with him.

This book is a family drama that follows 4 generations. The author does an amazing job of weaving a story of love, loss, addiction, found family, pregnancy and pregnancy loss and so many more of life’s most difficult challenges in a way that manages to be uplifting, encouraging and introspective!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

This book wrecked me and deserves all the stars. It reminded me of a modern day Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Add this to your upcoming TBR because this book has characters you definitely want to meet and every word is meaningful.

I wish I was able to highlight passages as there was beautiful lines about grief and love. This was compulsively readable and I definitely got lost in this book.

My heart is broken though… and this is a debut. She will be an auto buy author for me!

What a stunning debut! This book is a triumph and a brilliant family saga told over the course of 65 years from the perspective of three members of the Bright family. It beautifully tells their story that is caught in the repercussions of alcohol addiction. There is beauty, hope, redemption, and love threaded throughout and woven into their hearts. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming and I loved the many insights about life, love, family and more sprinkled throughout the narrative like confetti. I will be thinking about these relatable characters for a long time. This is a must-read that I highly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Sarah Damoff for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

#TheBrightYears #SarahDamoff #SimonAndSchuster #NetGalley #LiteraryFiction #FamilySaga #ARCreview #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bestbooks #booklover #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookclub #TBR2025 #AnticipatedBooks #read

The first half of this book definitely read like a debut. Some of the writing was clunky, and while at times there were overly flowery prose, (e.g. "I shrug myself into [the sweater] as the sunset coats us in an orange film of relaxed contentment." 8% of the way in), the poetic illustrations seem to come and go, and wane as the book progressed.

The benefit of a book that covers three generations, is getting to grow with and love the characters. However, since the book covers a large span of time I had whiplash from some events going by too quickly—some major events that would have benefited from more exploration, and some smaller events that could have been detailed more to add depth to the story.

Also, I felt like the readers were beaten over the head with pop culture references to ensure we didn't forget the timeframe we were in. That could have been done more subtly.

Damoff won be back with the love story and character development in the last quarter of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I think the writing style is extremely strong and beautiful. The author did an incredible job weaving a sad and complex story about the lasting effects of trauma and grief. The opening chapter is stunning. Her prose is so lyrical and descriptive. The main reason I am giving this book 3 stars is the story pacing and development. The plot is very interesting and intense but I had a difficult time connecting with the 3 main characters. Georgette was my favorite character but Ryan and Lillian felt wooden and stiff. This novel deals with some heavy topics like addiction and depression but I felt disconnected from the characters which made for a unfulfilling reading experience. I would highly recommend this book though because the writing was simply breathtaking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, releasing April 22nd!

I liked this book but to me this was basically the platonic ideal of a three-star read; I liked it as I was reading it, it was engaging enough to move along quickly, I generally liked the characters, but some things didn't work great and I didn't feel an overall deep connection with the content. The book follows the story of three (four-ish) generations of a family in Texas and the ways in which addiction and trauma are passed down throughout the years. That makes this book sound pretty dark and it has its dark moments but overall I found it a likable family drama. The constant dropping of events to mark our place in time (ie "9/11 happened," "I heard the Spice Girls on the radio," "What do you think of the new Wes Anderson movie?") was distracting-I understood what this was trying to do but it felt pretty forced. There's also some elements of the book that happen what feels like out of nowhere and are dropped quickly or never really expanded on. The writing occasionally felt a little overwrought, but overall I liked it and I'm always softer on debut novelists with writing since harshly judging the first pass at anything feels unfair. Other readers REALLY seem to like this, so if you connect with the description I'd say to give it a shot, and I'd definitely read something else by Damoff in the future!