The Bright Years

Social worker Damoff’s heartfelt debut focuses on the impact of alcohol addiction on a family over four generations. In 1979 Fort Worth, Tex., 20-something bank teller Lillian Wright meets artist Ryan Brighton. Ryan proposes after a three-year courtship, during which Lillian learns little about his family, and she accepts. Eventually, Ryan reveals that his alcoholic father was physically abusive, but Lillian never imagines Ryan might follow in his footsteps, even as his drinking worsens. After a crushing miscarriage, Lillian gives birth to their daughter, Georgette, and reveals to Ryan that before they met, she had a son and gave him up for adoption. In chapters from Lillian’s and Georgette’s alternating points of view, Lillian struggles to accept that no matter how many chances she gives her husband, he won’t choose family over liquor, while Georgette learns her father can’t be counted on. Though Ryan tries sporadically throughout his daughter’s young life to be there for her, Georgette remains ambivalent toward him after she grows up. Late in the novel, the reader hears the story from Ryan’s point of view in letters to his granddaughter, a delayed attempt at character development that feels a bit too sentimental. Still, the author elicits empathy for all the ravaged characters. This family drama rings true. (Apr.)