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The Bright Years

ebook
0 of 7 copies available
0 of 7 copies available
A National Bestseller

One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they're unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.

"Outstanding...through Damoff's beautiful, at times almost poetic narrative, we see hope through the darkness, and how love—and forgiveness—can make us whole." —Elle
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, debut 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.
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    The publisher provides the following statement about the accessibility of the EPUB file supplied to OverDrive. Experiences may vary across reading systems. After borrowing the book, you may download the EPUB files to read in another reading system.

    Summary

    A publication with images and logos, converted to meet EPUB Accessibility specifications of WCAG-AA level. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images and logos, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order, structural navigation, and semantic structure. Blank pages from print have been removed in this ebook, with related page number spans set on the first following in-spine page. Certain front and back matter pages have been adjusted in the reading order sequence from print, with related page references reordered in the page-list order.

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    • No information about appearance modifiability is available.

    • Not all of the content will be readable as read aloud speech or dynamic braille.

    • Has alternative text descriptions for images.

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    • The publication contains a conformance statement that it meets the EPUB Accessibility and WCAG 2 Level AA standard.

    • This publication claims to meet EPUB Accessibility 1.1 WCAG 2.2 Level AA.

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    • Table of contents to all chapters of the text via links.

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    • Page breaks included

    • High contrast between text and background

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  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      Starred review from February 1, 2025
      Damoff's debut is tender and heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful. In 1979 Fort Worth, Texas, Lillian Wright is starting anew. One day in the public library, Ryan Brighton, who knows her from her job at the bank, approaches her. They fall in love, and life becomes a picture-perfect dream. But after Lillian gives birth to Georgette, whom they call Jet, Ryan slides into alcoholism. His father had been afflicted by the same condition, and Lillian is shocked that Ryan would follow that same path. Lillian forges through the years on her own, becoming close with a neighbor and staying close to Ryan's mother. But she's also living with her own secret: she has a son she gave up for adoption years ago. Ryan comes into their lives now and then, but his addiction and Lillian's past keep him from truly connecting with his wife and child. This novel moves through many themes, with grief, family, and forgiveness among them. Not only do the characters find family in unique places, but they contend with the pain that circulates through their blood relations. The close points of view for Lillian, Ryan, and Jet will make the reader feel like they are actually living through it all alongside the characters.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 10, 2025
      Social worker Damoff’s heartfelt debut focuses on the impact of alcohol addiction on a family over four generations. In 1979 Fort Worth, Tex., 20-something bank teller Lillian Wright meets artist Ryan Brighton. Ryan proposes after a three-year courtship, during which Lillian learns little about his family, and she accepts. Eventually, Ryan reveals that his alcoholic father was physically abusive, but Lillian never imagines Ryan might follow in his footsteps, even as his drinking worsens. After a crushing miscarriage, Lillian gives birth to their daughter, Georgette, and reveals to Ryan that before they met, she had a son and gave him up for adoption. In chapters from Lillian’s and Georgette’s alternating points of view, Lillian struggles to accept that no matter how many chances she gives her husband, he won’t choose family over liquor, while Georgette learns her father can’t be counted on. Though Ryan tries sporadically throughout his daughter’s young life to be there for her, Georgette remains ambivalent toward him after she grows up. Late in the novel, the reader hears the story from Ryan’s point of view in letters to his granddaughter, a delayed attempt at character development that feels a bit too sentimental. Still, the author elicits empathy for all the ravaged characters. This family drama rings true.

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