The Bright Unknown ~ Review

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by Elizabeth Byler Younts, 
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The Bright Unknown

By  Elizabeth Byler Younts

Brighton Friedrich has only known the Riverside Home for the Insane, born in the asylum she can never leave - it's the law. She's not a patient but most definitely a prisoner and in someways a pet to a few of the nurses. Brighton knows all too well the pain and misery that lives in this place that offers to heal but in fact, does more harm than anything.

More than 50 years have passed and the girl she once was has been pushed into the hidden recesses of her mind until she receives a package from someone named Kelly Keene. The old memories come back and she is faced with a choice - allow Brighton to resurface or keep her forever locked away.

The Bright Unknown is a book well worth reading but at the same time it hurts the soul as one experiences what Brighton went through when she was in Riverside. The very means that were used to subdue and restrain are just so inhumane and when one thinks that this occurred in the 1930s and 1940s it is almost unbelievable that we claimed to be a civilized society and wanted to force our civilized ways on others. 

This book is told in memories so it is not presented in a linear chronology so the reader will need to note at the beginning of each chapter the year. But this is more than a life imprisoned as Brighton manages to get the one thing she always wanted a life outside. But when you have never experienced what lies beyond freedom can be almost as frightening as the pain and grief that she had always seen. This is a story of perseverance and the strength that the right friend can give when you most need it. The Bright Unknown gave Brighton what she needed - a dream of the life she and her mother might have had, a dream of a future that was beyond the known. This is a story of the triumph and endurance of the human spirit. Would make an excellent book club selection.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide honest opinion all thoughts expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Bright Unknown
Author: Elizabeth Byler Younts
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Literary Fiction
Release Date: October 22, 2019

This poignant and heartbreaking novel explores the power of resilience, the gift of friendship, and the divine beauty to be found in the big, bright world—if only we’re willing to look.

Pennsylvania, 1940s. The only life Brighton Friedrich has ever known is the one she has endured within the dreary walls of Riverside Home—the rural asylum where she was born. A nurse, Joann, has educated and raised Brighton, whose mother is a patient at the hospital. But Joann has also kept vital information from Brighton—secrets that if ever revealed would illuminate Brighton’s troubling past and the circumstances that confine her to Riverside. Brighton’s best friend is a boy she calls Angel, and as they grow up together and face the bleak future that awaits them, they determine to make a daring escape.

Nothing can prepare Brighton and Angel for life beyond Riverside’s walls. They have no legal identities, very little money, and only a few leads toward a safe place to land. As they struggle to survive in a world they’ve never seen before, they must rely on each other and the kindness of strangers—some of whom may prove more dangerous than the asylum they’ve fled.

Narrated in Elizabeth Byler Younts's gorgeous style, The Bright Unknown is a sparkling search for answers, family, and a place to call home.

PURCHASE LINKS*: 

Goodreads | Amazon | BN.com | Book Depository | Christianbook

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Byler Younts gained a worldwide audience through her first book, Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Solace of Water and the Promise of Sunrise series. Elizabeth lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, her two daughters, and a small menagerie of well-loved pets.  


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