Celebrate Lit / November 13, 2019

The Bright Unknown

Celebrate Lit Book Tour

About the Book The Bright Unknown

Book: The Bright Unknown

Author: Elizabeth Byler Younts

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: October 22, 2019

Two young friends embark upon an epic journey across 1940s middle America in search of answers, a family, and a place to call home.

The only kind of life Brighton Turner understands is the one she has endured within the dreary walls of a rural Pennsylvania asylum. A nurse has thoughtfully educated and raised Brighton, but she has also kept vital information from her in order to keep her close. Brighton befriends a boy whom she calls Angel—he doesn’t know his name—and as the two of them learn more about what lies beyond the walls they call home, they fight for their release and eventually escape.

However, the world outside the only place they’ve ever known is not what they expect. They have no real names, no money, and no help—and they must rely upon the kindness of strangers as they walk and hitchhike from Pennsylvania to Michigan to find their last hope of a home.

This heartbreaking journey, narrated in gorgeous prose, explores what it means to belong—and to scour the universe with fresh eyes for the brightness within.

Click here to grab your copy!

My Thoughts on The Bright Unknown:

I was intrigued by this novel because of the mental health aspect. As a nurse who has worked mental health, I’m always interested in what mental health treatment was like before this day and age. It was rough and it was hard I know but there were bright spots as well. Enter The Bright Unknown.

This novel is about a young girl who has spent her entire life within the walls of a mental health asylum. Her mother gave birth to her there and neither has left.

Follow her journey of finding out who she is and what the world is really like by reading this great book.

This is the first book by this author that I’ve read. I love the story behind the book! For me, it is always so neat to find out the why behind something. I will listen to a song on the radio and want to know the why behind it. Why did that happen, what was it inspired by, etc? This book has a great story behind it and it only made me enjoy it more!

I recommend this book. It’s a great one. I really enjoyed getting to know Brighton and follow her along her journey to find out who she really is. Plus it’s always fun to see someone seeing the real world for the first time!

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of The Bright Unknown

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.

More from Elizabeth

The Bright Unknown was born out of a seed of a true story that my husband’s grandmother, Gigi, shared with me. Gigi told me that when she was a young girl living in Oklahoma her mom had a friend who was a nurse. During one of her visits over coffee, she would occasionally talk about her patients at the local asylum. One particular story really intrigued Gigi and even decades later she still remembered it. The story was about a patient who had a baby while at the hospital and while Gigi remembers nothing about the patient or the child, she knew that when she moved out of Oklahoma several years later that asylum-born girl was around eighteen and still living within the walls of that hospital along with her patient-mother.

That story stuck with me. This trapped girl and her mother wouldn’t let me go. I began to wonder over her and ask all sorts of unanswered questions. Slowly but surely my imagined story for her came to life. Layer after layer I learned about Brighton, my name for her. I also named two characters after Gigi, her first and middle, as an honor to her. This story was born from a memory but now these characters feel real and present in my life today and I hope you will journey with them in The Bright Unknown.