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 – information 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 grow determined 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. The Bright Unknown is a sparkling search for answers, family and a place to call home.