This one gutted me. I knew from reading the first chapter that this book would be challenging to read (emotionally) but worth it. An incredible look at family relationships, and how the bond exists between parents and children.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

WOW!! I just finished this and my eyes are still wet. Not really sad tears, but sad that the story ended. It is so relatable and so real that I hated to see it end. I had stayed up until 2:30 this morning reading and still had about an hour and a half to go and decided I didn't want to finish it that way. This story deserves more than sleepy reading!!

I was first attracted to The Bright Years because it is set in Fort Worth, a town I know a lot about. I visited an Aunt there a lot as a child and have lived just outside the city now for over 30 years. If you know Fort Worth, you will recognize the town described. The Braum's, where some of the pivotal scenes happen and you will taste the Blue Bell which is omnipresent.

Lillian and Ryan Bright both bring secrets to their marriage, although they swear to each other that they don't. But those secrets will play a major role in their marriage and in the life of their daughter Georgette, or Jet, as she is known. But ultimately this is the story of Jet, because the story revolves around her. When she is born life changes for her parents. Lillian finds strength she didn't know she had and Ryan succumbs to his weaknesses. Thank goodness for good friends, neighbors and mothers-in-law.

Told in three separate sections about the three main characters, it is a story of a marriage, and a life, and hope, and LOVE.

Wow, this book truly shocked me with how much I loved it. I sometimes struggle with books that have a lot of tragedy, because they feel as though the events are thrown in for shock value, but the depth is lacking or it feels forced. I am here to say that this is not the case with The Bright Years. I felt every single emotion that these characters were going through. I found myself complaining to my husband at one point that there was no good time to read it, because I was just profusely shedding tears every time I opened it. I enjoyed the pacing and the different point of views. I think reading from Jet’s POV was my favorite. I found her to be imperfect, but relatable and likeable. Her character growth development was amazing and felt so real. This story spans decades, and it’s not very long, but somehow it didn’t feel rushed and I managed to be very very invested in all of the characters. I would definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for an emotional read.

This was such a beautiful family saga told from the POV of three different members of the Bright family that spans decades. It’s character driven and takes an intimate look at different generations in one typical family and I adored this family. I really don’t want to get into the plot, it’s best to let everything unfold for yourself but it has some heavy themes and issues. It’s also about second chances, love, life and loss and at times it’s very sad. There are some moments of hope though and ultimately this is such a worthwhile read. Families are complicated and messy and parents aren’t perfect, and the author examined this in a profound way. I feel like anyone could relate to the themes explored here, don’t miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the eARC.

No one has ever deserved more than what she was given than Lil.

This book made me sad and angry pretty much interchangeably.

Secrets. Addiction. Trauma...
And, the sustaining power of love and forgiveness...

"The Bright Years" begins in 1958 and continues through 2019, sixty-one years and four generations of one Texas family. It is written primarily in the first-person voices of each Bright family member, Lillian, Ryan, and their daughter, Georgette—six decades of love, joy, and pain.

There is deep emotion packed into the 288 pages of this novel, and I lost count of how many times I ugly cried. Be warned, this family story is heartbreaking, but as heavy and dark as it gets, light, compassion, and hope shine through.

What also shines through are the characters and how well this debut author draws each one. Don't be fooled like I was by Damoff's writing style. It isn't purple prose, but Southern speech, with extra metaphors, and once I figured this out, the writing clicked, and I saw stars—all of them.

"The Bright Years" is a book I almost skipped, and it has turned into one of my favorite reads of 2025. This is an impressive debut novel, and I look forward to more from Sarah Damoff!

5⭐

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, for granting my wish, and Sarah Damoff for the gifted DRC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 23%. This book was perfectly fine and the writing was solid, but it felt like a story I've read many times before without adding anything new. The blurb compares this to books by Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo, which are typically right up my alley, but the nuance and insight in The Bright Years didn't feel like it rose to the level of those authors. I kept getting frustrated at the character's poor communication with each other and found that I wasn't excited to keep reading, so I put it down.

3.5 stars - I'm sure that there are going to be tons of readers who absolutely fall in love with this book. There are endearing characters, a time frame that spans decades, and compelling takes on addiction and grief. However, for me, I was completely turned off by the amount of trauma and death in this book. I felt like I just got over one tragedy before another one was unfolding. I get that this is similar to real life sometimes, but in the context of this story, it just felt sort of overwhelming. There were also a couple of stylistic choices that felt off to me. For example, the first switch in perspectives comes at an odd timing in the story, and I couldn't really get into the second POV because I felt disconnected at that point. Also, there were a few lines that literally made me cringe when I read them because they were just so cheesy. I'm not saying that Damoff is not a talented writer, this content just didn't hit right for me in several ways.

“We begin to say goodbye as soon as we say hello. Death is a corollary of birth, and to welcome life is to guarantee loss.”

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
Pub Date: 4/22/25
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What an absolutely stunning debut from Damoff! This novel is such a moving and poignant look at what it is to show up scared. It really shows just how messy but beautiful family can be. She expertly delves into love and loss of all kinds in less than 300 pages. I’m borderline speechless about this book.

There is so much I’d like to specifically say about the Bright family saga we witness in The Bright Years, but I don’t want to spoil a single thing. There is not a single character you won’t fall in love with. You will root for every single one. And some of them will break your heart.

As someone who has loved and lost quite a bit in my lifetime, the care with which Damoff wrote these characters not only made me feel seen, but also helped me heal in ways I didn’t expect. And her writing felt unique to me. Just utterly gorgeous!!!

I will say, there are some difficult topics in these pages so please check the content warnings and take care of yourselves. Otherwise, please pick a copy of this book up and make sure you have some tissues nearby (for sad and happy tears both I promise!!)

Huge thank you to @netgalley @simonandschuster for the arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion. I can already tell this book will be amongst my favorites of the year.

My last three reads have been...fine. I didn't like the new Emily Henry, and that's largely because I don't like romance, and the rest wasn't enough to pull me through. I didn't like the new Anne Tyler, I feel a little more objective about that...and then I picked up The Bright Years of which I have seen nothing but 5 star glows. Unfortunately, I didn't really like this one either, and I'm going to try and parse out why below.

I'll start with I'm glad this book exists and I think it does what it sought out to do -bring awareness to the cyclical nature of addiction and the intergenerational trauma it creates. That is told to us here, and it is very much that...told.

"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."

I almost stopped reading this at 50% because I could see where it was going and because we were doing a lot of telling, not showing, I thought I could be done. We get a POV shift and a major plot point at that mark, so I kept going, but I'm not sure I needed to. SO much happens in this book. Decades of action in only 280 pages, but the plot propelled me through rather than any subtleties in shifts in character dynamics. That coupled with lines like maybe its not the alcohol I should be swearing off, maybe it's love, just took me out of the important things Damoff is calling attention to.

I feel a bit heartless writing this. Readers are feeling a deep emotional pull by this book, and I just...didn't. Don't get me wrong, this book is Emotional. Just not in the way that works for this reader.

This is a gorgeously written debut about the evolution of a family dealing with addiction across decades. That sounds heavy, but the reading experience itself was immersive and page turning. The bulk of the story focuses on how addiction affects the people around the addict, and not the addict themself. Profound and powerful, I was a sobbing mess at the end. This will be a year end favorite.

Thanks Jeanette Galli for the advanced copy. I loved reading this story. It is beautifully written and accurately depicts how family members lives are impacted when alcoholism is present. Also portrayed just how challenging the struggle is for the alcoholic. It felt like I wasn’t just reading a story about this multigenerational family. It felt like I was a part of the family. I loved it.

The most raw emotion I’ve ever had reading a book. When most characters go through personal growth throughout a book based over years of life, it’s an emotional journey. This book left me tear stained pages and people I’ll pull for on every step of their journey. The power of forgiveness left me on an emotional roller coaster of would I or wouldn’t I?! This book is 100% worth the hype!!

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this family drama! We follow multiple generations of the Bright family as they manage grief, trauma, and alcoholism.

This was an impactful and deeply touching story. I loved the characters and in particular loved the pace. We go through decades of time but without ever feeling superficial or quick. It was lovely following these characters as they grew and matured. I also appreciated each of the three perspectives.

Highly recommend to readers who enjoy multigenerational family dramas!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for access to this work. All opinions are my own

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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