Beginnings Aren’t Blank Canvases and neither Are Families in “The Bright Years” https://ift.tt/Vw8hkuI
It’s been a while since a book has brought me to tears so many times throughout the read. Not watery eyeballs or a gentle trickle, but full-on crying. Sarah Damoff’s debut, The Bright Years, did exactly that. This book was a gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, soul-searching, uplifting, and awe-inspiring rollercoaster of goodness. A sweeping multi-generational family saga that stretches throughout the span of six decades, The Bright Years introduces us to characters so real and relatable that it’s impossible not to feel their pain and joy deep in your bones.
In 1958, Ryan’s mom, Elise, can no longer take the alcoholism and especially the abuse from Ryan’s dad, and she leaves with Ryan in tow. This is the first generation. Ryan grows up and meets Lily, whose own parents are deceased — one from cancer, one from being killed by a drunk driver. Both Ryan and Lily, the second generation, carry their baggage from childhood traumas. They have their reasons for not wanting to drink and for being terrified about starting a family. But when Georgette (Jet) is born, the third generation, their new life can begin. They won’t make the same mistakes their parents made — or even the same mistakes they themselves have made in the past.
Or will they?
Life gets rocky, choices are made, and over the next three decades, we are drawn into the multiple points of view of these characters and the exploration of their grief, abuse, resentment, regrets, secrets, addictions, trauma, pain, devastation, abandonment, second chances, hope, and redemption. Through the lenses of Ryan, Lily, and Jet, we get to discover the past mistakes, present tribulations, and future possibilities through each character’s perspective and their specific take on the world. Then, when Apricity is born, the fourth generation, we are left wondering what from the past will be repeated, and what lessons were lived and learned along the way.
At its essence, The Bright Years is a book about generational trauma and the choices we have, or perhaps, don’t have. Lily says to Jet, “You can’t control anyone else’s choices, but you start with what you’re given and then you make your own.” Again and again, we see this theme of “choice” throughout the book: “Sometimes a woman’s choice is between impossible and impossible and impossible, and she just has to make it.” And, “I don’t mean to choose her over everyone else, but it’s a choice made deep in my bones.” And, “This is how I manage to miss it as my husbands’ eyes begin to hollow out like craters.” And, “Love is time shared, and we make our choices.”
We are left to wonder: How do generational wounds affect the choices we make in the here and now, and how do we recover and do better? Damoff poses these situations throughout the book and explores each character’s take on the matter, giving voice and perspective first from Lily, then Jet, and finally Ryan.
Along the way, regardless of their choices and despite their weaknesses (of which there are many), each character draws the reader in and begs for their forgiveness. It is impossible not to find redeeming qualities in every single one of these people, and that is purely from the genius and gentle touch of Damoff. As someone who has built a career as a social worker, Damoff’s empathy towards humans and all their fortes and flaws is so vivid and spot on that these characters could be standing right beside you, making one bad choice after another, yet you are beside them rooting them on and yearning for the successes. Through emotional authenticity and prose that are both precise and intimate — for instance, “Loss keeps a tight grip when there’s hope left” and “Beginnings aren’t blank canvases” — Damoff explores the dynamics of family, life, loss, and love seamlessly and with compassion.
The Bright Years is not a light-hearted read. There are trigger warnings up the wazoo, and you’ll definitely need to invest in tissue. But… it is poignant and promising and something you will not regret. The heart of this novel is present on every page. The emotional tug to be near those you love most will increase with every word you read. And, really, what’s better than a book that makes you more appreciative of the life around you?
Fiction The Bright Years
By Sarah Damoff
Simon & Schuster
Published April 22, 2025
0 Commentaires