A historical fiction story that I could not put down.
As Bright As Heaven is one of those books that grabs you right from the start and does not let go till the very end. The setting is 1918 and the historical events that the book is centered around are WWI and the Spanish Flu . It is hard to believe that this pandemic took the lives of over fifty million people in the world.
At the beginning of the book the Bright family’s loss of their infant son has a profound impact on the mother, Pauline, her husband Thomas and their three daughters. As they try to go on and deal with their grief Thomas is given the opportunity to relocate and to provide a good financial future for them all. The family moves to Philadelphia and Thomas joins his Uncle Fred in the funeral and undertaker business. The family lives in the funeral home and they are surrounded by death and grieving families. Somehow they embrace this new life and begin to heal. Unfortunately life does not always go as planned and Tom must leave for basic training. Around the same time the Spanish Flu becomes rampant and wipes out many friends and neighbors. There are dead bodies everywhere and people must leave their dead loved ones outside for the city to collect by horse drawn wagons. This horrible flu killed indiscriminately and the family pulls together to try to cope and help those around them. One split decision made by one of the daughters during this crisis, in an attempt to save a life, impacts the entire family for decades to come. Time goes on and the community settles back into a semblance of normalcy. The children grow up but that split decision made years ago eventually has consequences that the family must face and correct if they are to be able to live with themselves. This book is a great historical fiction read that focuses on family love, grief and strength. The characters are all well developed and I felt I knew them and I felt empathy for each one. I have read other books by this author, Susan Meissner, but this is, in my opinion, her best so far.
I received an ARC from Bookish First and this is my honest review
.
At the beginning of the book the Bright family’s loss of their infant son has a profound impact on the mother, Pauline, her husband Thomas and their three daughters. As they try to go on and deal with their grief Thomas is given the opportunity to relocate and to provide a good financial future for them all. The family moves to Philadelphia and Thomas joins his Uncle Fred in the funeral and undertaker business. The family lives in the funeral home and they are surrounded by death and grieving families. Somehow they embrace this new life and begin to heal. Unfortunately life does not always go as planned and Tom must leave for basic training. Around the same time the Spanish Flu becomes rampant and wipes out many friends and neighbors. There are dead bodies everywhere and people must leave their dead loved ones outside for the city to collect by horse drawn wagons. This horrible flu killed indiscriminately and the family pulls together to try to cope and help those around them. One split decision made by one of the daughters during this crisis, in an attempt to save a life, impacts the entire family for decades to come. Time goes on and the community settles back into a semblance of normalcy. The children grow up but that split decision made years ago eventually has consequences that the family must face and correct if they are to be able to live with themselves. This book is a great historical fiction read that focuses on family love, grief and strength. The characters are all well developed and I felt I knew them and I felt empathy for each one. I have read other books by this author, Susan Meissner, but this is, in my opinion, her best so far.
I received an ARC from Bookish First and this is my honest review
.