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 David Nicholls and Claire Lombardo.

'A heart-breaker and heart-mender at once, this is a story that forces us to confront our vulnerabilities and secrets in order to find our strength and truth. A stunning debut!' - TAYARI JONES, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage

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. By the bestselling author of The Burning Side.

‘Sarah Damoff’s debut novel, The Bright Years, carries the sensitivity and knowledge of her years of experience as a social worker ... Damoff’s careful approach to depicting alcoholism, and her expressions of what it means to love (and be loved) amidst the wreckage of addiction, set this tender novel apart’ - Elle

‘This novel sparkles in its sentences, its texture, its big heart – The Bright Years is a vivid, forthright and gorgeously written story of love in its many iterations’ - Claire Lombardo, New York Times-bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

‘The Bright Years is a moving portrait of inheritance and loss. A heart-breaker and heart-mender at once, this is a story that forces us to confront our vulnerabilities and secrets in order to find our strength and truth. A stunning debut!’ - Tayari Jones, New York Times-bestselling author of An American Marriage

‘In The Bright Years, Sarah Damoff paints a loving portrait of a Texas family shadowed by the power of addiction. The journeys of Lillian, Jet and Ryan Bright are in all ways tender, tragic and triumphant and left me rooting for each character until the very end. A beautiful debut’ - Amanda Churchill, author of The Turtle House

‘Like all great books, The Bright Years will leave you with deep feelings of compassion and insight for the inevitable love and suffering we must all go through in order to fully live’ - Simon Van Booy, bestselling author of Sipsworth