A sparkling search for answers, family, and a place to call home. 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 … 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, 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.
Praise for The Bright Unknown:
“A beautifully woven story of a young woman’s journey to understanding that the past shapes us but does not define us, and that it is love that gives us the courage to live like we believe it. With prose that is luminous and lyrical, The Bright Unknown is a compelling read from the first page to the last.” –Susan Meissner
“With evocative prose and rich detail, Younts draws us into the humanity and hurt of a little examined chapter in American history. Her poignant details will break open your heart, but, with skillful beauty, she makes Brighton–and us–whole again in this wonderful story of hope, grace, and love.” –Katherine Reay
“Elizabeth Byler Younts writes with heart, a poet’s pen, and courage. This is I knew when I read The Solace of Water. This was reinforced with my reading of her newest offering. Younts has given us a story which is at once powerful and compassionate, revealing and dignified, heartrending and lyric. Compelling and infused with hope of redemption, The Bright Unknown ushers readers on a journey of empathy. I, for one, am grateful to have read it.” –Susie Finkbeiner
“As bold as it is beautiful, as haunting as it is full of hope, The Bright Unknown is a story that will latch onto the minds and hearts of readers, and not easily let go. With luscious language that gives birth to unforgettable characters, Younts is not afraid to explore the dark places for the sake of finding light. I could not put this novel down!” –Heidi Chiavaroli
- Stand-alone historical novel set in the twentieth century
- Book length: approximately 110K words
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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This was one of those wow books. I cried, laughed and was horrified all in the same paragraph at times. Brighton grew up in an insane asylum because her mother gave birth to her there. She was not supposed to be able to leave because many people thought she might end up like her mother who had mental health issues. This was during the 1920’s to the 1940’s. This was not a good time to be stuck in an asylum. As this book shows, one didn’t have to do much to be sent to an asylum. The characters were wonderful. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
‘All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.’ – Saint Francis
‘As long as I kept my eyes open, there was always a sliver of light to follow’ – Brighton
What an incredible book! The author caught my attention with the beginning when voices of the past, found in a canister of 35mm film, wanted to be developed and brought into the light. What follows is a very honest look at what life was like for young Brighton growing up in Riverside Home for the Insane. Fortunately she was loved and cared for by Nursey, who taught her how to read and writer. She had one friend, an albino boy she named Angel, as he had no other name. She shared her knowledge with him and they spent many hours in the graveyard playing and making up stories about the names on the stones.
There is much sadness in this very honest look at what life was like in the Home. The characters are so well developed I felt like I knew them. The plot gathered me in and didn’t let me go until I reached the most wonderful and unexpected ending.
There was always that hope …. ‘As long as I kept my eyes open, there was always a sliver of light to follow’ – Brighton
This copy was received through NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and CelebrateLit. The impressions and opinions are my own.
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” St. Francis
Exquisite prose softens the blows of this most unusual story; the story of one young life among so many, brought forth into a world of darkness, yet bestowed with a determination to carry the light. Meet Brighton Friedrich, whose struggles to live a normal life took place within the walls of an asylum for the insane, and whose friends consisted of those whom the world had intentionally forgotten.
Befriending a young boy growing up in similar circumstances, Brighton and Angel form an alliance of souls, often wondering if they have the courage to live in a brighter unknown. Theirs would be a journey filled with dreams, nightmares, fancies and fears . . . . . “but as long as I kept my eyes open there was always a sliver of light to follow”.
It’s so rare to read a story where each line forms its own verse of poetry, like a mountain brook babbling continually over the rocks and boulders that contain it; eventually leading it home.
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.
Elizabeth Byler Younts brings a unique voice to Christian fiction. With hauntingly beautiful prose, she explores the ties of friendship, the power of love and forgiveness with gut-wrenching emotion.
Her story of two forgotten children, growing up behind the doors of an asylum in the 1930’s will tug at the emotions. Their escape into the real world comes with many struggles, but freedom from the horrors of the asylum may take years to overcome.
It is a sign of a good author, when a reader cares for the characters as if they are real people. I found myself thinking of Brighton and Angel when I was away from the book, eager to get back to read more of their story.
The author’s impeccable attention to detail is apparent as she writes of the misconceptions and treatments of mental illness in the 1930’s.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.
As bold as it is beautiful, as haunting as it is full of hope, The Bright Unknown is a story that will latch onto the minds and hearts of readers, and not easily let go. With luscious language that gives birth to unforgettable characters, Younts is not afraid to explore the dark places for the sake of finding light. I could not put this novel down!