The Bright Unknown by Elizabeth Byler Younts

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 Yount’s gorgeous style, The Bright Unknown is a sparkling search for answers, family, and a place to call home.

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About The Author

Go to www.elizabethbyleryounts.com to subscribe to the newsletter and receive the audio of the first chapter of her new release THE SOLACE OF WATER as a thank you gift.

Elizabeth Byler Younts is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She gained a worldwide audience through her first book Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl and is a RITA nominated writer. She is also the author of The Promise of Sunrise series. She has consulted on Amish lifestyle and the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect two award-winning television shows. Elizabeth lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, two daughters, and a cockapoo named Fable.


My Review

A book that will make you shutter, and I found myself with tears, those poor people. There is a lot of truth in this read, and knowing that made it so much harder for me to make myself believe this is a fictional book.
The author does a wonderful job throughout the story, and once you pick the book up, it becomes very hard to put down. Although there is not an epilogue, the book does bring everything to a conclusion and we are up dated, and I was surprised!
Hard to read what happens here, but superbly done, and you don’t want to miss it!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review.