This is the story of a young mother, who loves her son so much, but at the same time is spiraling down fast from alcohol addiction. Sonya was an aspiring actress when she became pregnant with her son Tommy. She is left alone to raise him, as the father of her child wants no involvement, and her father wants little to do with her life. When Tommy is 4, Sonya’s father approaches her about going into rehab and he promises her son will be taken care of. This is the setup for the extremely complex story.

We spend a lot in Sonya’s head and the small group that surround her. Every chapter something is uncovered and at times it can get very uncomfortable.

I recently finished A School For Good Mothers which was so tough for me to get through, but it was so good. This book had a very similar feeling throughout with a much different ending. This book will make you cringe at times, but I am pretty sure this is exactly what the author wanted to convey.

I recommend this book highly. Perfect to read for a book club, or just a close friend because I am sure you are going to want to discuss this with somebody when you are done.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVia for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Touching, Riveting story of how lost to addiction a mother can be, yet still love their child dearly. Can this love ultimately change her actions or will it be too much of a pull for her to come back. The book just made me think deeply about this.

Bright Burning Things is aptly named. Sonya tells the story about herself and her chaotic confusing struggle with alcoholism. Much of the story was about her facing her inner demons which the reader never hears about as Sonya doesn’t seem to know herself. If this is a true depiction of alcoholism I am so relieved to not have those demons to ruin my life.
I was not ever able to relate to this character or the way she treats others, especially her four year old son, Tommy, and their dog, Herbie. My heart was broken for both Tommy and Herbie, never knowing what Sonya would do next. I wish the story would have included snippets from Tommy’s point of view as that may have made the horrors of the effects of alcoholism on children front and center and given this book a stronger plot line. My heart certainly goes out to all the “Tommy’s” in the world.
The ending was so abrupt I thought I had fallen asleep and missed a few chapters. Thank you to Lisa Harding, Harper Via, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this recently published book.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding is a gut-wrenching story, but remarkably told.

The book follows Sonya, a former actress struggling with alcoholism while caring for her young son, Tommy. She’s flawed and missteps, but also coping with her own traumas without a healthy support system.

This story absorbed me. I read the whole book in a single day.

The first-person narrative is definitely what makes this so visceral. You’re put right into Sonya’s emotions. I read a physical copy, but heard this is done brilliantly on audio. I constantly ached for Sonya and Tommy, while another character made me sick to my stomach (iykyk).

The ending felt a little abrupt, maybe because I was invested in them and wanted to see more of their lives. But overall I was deeply moved by Harding’s searing portrait of addiction and motherhood.

This book was hard to read in many ways. First, just logistically, we are reading a narrator with severe alcoholism, and her narration, naturally, was a bit jarring. This was also difficult because her little boy just loves her so much, and reading him trying to connect to her and save her time and time again broke my heart. This book is great, it’s just not easy. I highly recommend!

I am so glad I listened to the audio version narrated by the author. At first I was frustrated by the speed of the narration, but I soon realized that the first person story of an alcoholic mother and her preschool son was necessary to explain her need for alcohol. Sonya Moriarty was once a successful London actress and has returned to Dublin. Her drinking is self-medication for her failure in London. It’s a harrowing portrayal of alcoholism from a perspective we seldom see. The reader sees from Sonya’s point of view, the nastiness of her neighbors and the pizza place that will no longer allow her credit. We see how she views her father and stepmother with hostility as they try to help her and her young son, Tommy. One of the things I found interesting was her views on the AA meetings she was forced to attend to regain custody of young Tommy. The meetings turned into a male vanity show rather than real support. Jenna Hager Bush recommended this book as the December Today show book club choice and I strongly agree.

There was one incident fairly early in the book involving Herbie that almost made me stop reading - but I kept at it because the writing was good and I DID want to know what would happen. It was rather depressing to know people experience this - and the author did a good job of making the reader actually feel and understand what the characters were going through. Sad - but redemptive.

This emotive, intimate and intensely unflinching exploration of one’s struggles with mental health and addiction was both difficult to read and difficult to put down. Sonya is a former actress whose life is spiraling out of control because of her addiction to alcohol. A single mom to a four year old son, Sonya loves Tommy and their rescue dog Herbie but her addiction has put them all at risk. Her estranged father steps in and arranges for her to go to a rehab program. The reader witnesses her heart wrenching struggle through rehab and her fight to retain custody of her son. The chaotic narration gives us direct access into the mind of an addict as they struggle with demons and the resulting effects on their relationships. The result is a powerful, insightful and gripping gut punch of a story that poignantly displays the lasting impact of addiction on the parent child relationship. Highly recommend, this story will stay with you.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a difficult story to read with such a level of alcoholism but it was a really good story. This book might take you to a sad place however it was a good read and I enjoyed the characters. Well done to the author to write so well about this subject that so many people struggle with. I would record this book.

I would recommend this book for anyone struggling with addiction. I have so many friends and students who have battled this. It’s written from a perspective I haven’t thought about.

Sonya is a former actress and alcoholic. Her father sends her to rehab away from her young son and dog. I enjoyed the parts about rehab and her relationship with her son but in general I never felt totally compelled to read this. The writing is good but not exactly my thing and it took me out of the story for the most part. While I am not one to shy away from difficult topics I know others are so this definitely won’t be for everyone. In the end 3 stars from me.

Lyrical and intense, BRIGHT BURNING THINGS immerses the reader into Sonya’s stream of consciousness. A former actress turned single mother living on public assistance and the occasional theft, Sonya adores her young son, Tommy, and adopted dog, Herbie. Her alcoholism, however, exerts an even stronger pull and prevents her from being a responsible mother.

Under the influence of alcohol, she becomes the “bad fairy,” uncaring, cruel, and potentially abusive. She’s so dependent on Tommy that when he starts becoming comfortable with a neighbor, Sonya scares him by telling him the neighbor is a witch like in Hansel and Gretel.

When Sonya falls asleep while cooking fish fingers for Tommy, nearly burning down the house, her father gives her an ultimatum—enter a three-month treatment program or get government social workers involved.

It’s not much of a choice for Sonya though she is not completely committed to the program, packing three bottles of wine in her suitcase (which are quickly confiscated).

Though she makes a series of poor decisions, and it’s hard not to want to shake her silly, there is still something redeeming about Sonya. I felt for her and wanted her to succeed, perhaps because of her unwavering devotion to Tommy and Herbie, perhaps because of her own background.

BRIGHT BURNING THINGS is difficult to read since Sonya is so honest about her failings, but that very frankness makes her more sympathetic (despite the fact she is at times an unreliable narrator). Since this is first-person, her unraveling is immediate and all-encompassing, while her struggle to reestablish her family is painful and frustrating. Ultimately, though, it presents a hopeful future.

TW: alcoholism, child neglect, animal abuse, gaslighting

Bright Burning Things is a raw, emotionally resonant novel that paints the stark realities of alcoholism in an unflinching light. Sonya Moriarty was once a successful stage actress, until an unplanned pregnancy derailed her career and her life. Four years later, she lives with her son Tommy and their dog in a council flat, where repressed childhood trauma and the pressures of single motherhood have sent her into a tailspin, and her only comfort is found in the bottom of a bottle. When her absent father stages an intervention, Sonya is sent to rehab for three months, where she realizes she must heal or be faced with losing everything she holds dear.

This novel is an intense character study about a haunted, damaged woman struggling to overcome her demons, both past and present. Lisa Harding doesn't shy away from the topic of alcoholism, making this an extremely difficult book to read at times. The first-person narrative made me feel intimately connected to Sonya, who was a character I rooted for and sympathized with, and who frustrated me with her destructive tendencies. Harding heart-wrenchingly conveys Sonya's love for Tommy, even through her failings as his mother. Their relationship feels so authentic, peppered with nonsense words and sweet rituals and tiny, tender moments. The whole book is just so raw and vulnerable, and so effective as a result.

Bright Burning Things is an impactful, deeply moving story -- one that will stick with me for a long time. Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was dragged into this extremely moving book that described a young woman fighting to regain her beloved son Tommy after going through rehab. Although she was not always likable, I really felt for her anxiety and grief from being separated and I cheered as she made progress.

It's been a while since I found I book I could not put down, but Bright Burning Things is one of those. Sonya is a faded actress drowning in alcoholism, making horrible choices, but filled with love for her young son, Tommy. When her actions lead to the possibility of her losing him, Sonya reluctantly takes the steps to save their fragile relationship. We see everything through Sonya eyes and she's so damaged, it's heartbreaking. I rooted for Sonya as she struggles every minute of every day to make a life for herself, Tommy, and their much-loved pets.

This book was very hard to read in that while the writing was solid and engaging, the characters and the plot were not. It’s hard to read a story when you don’t connect with any of the characters, or particularly like your protagonist, so I struggled with this one.

Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding is amazing. It is heartbreaking, with a look into the mind of a mother in the middle of an alcohol addiction. It’s also about messy family relationships, grief, and finding your voice. I can’t recommend it enough and look forward to reading other books by this author.

This is one of those hard to read yet also hard to put down books. Bright Burning Things follows Sonya as she struggles with addiction, motherhood, and recovery. It's unsettling, disturbing, and emotional and you'll find yourself rooting for the characters and hoping that love and unconditional love will conquer all. A fast-paced read for anyone who enjoys family dramas.

Thank you HarperVia and NetGalley for this ARC.

Incredible! I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. I’ll start by saying, the only hurdle I had was that Sonya was difficult at first to understand, but as I got to know her she had quite an affect on me.

I felt an extreme weight of sadness for Sonya and Tommy, her 4 yr. old son. As appalling as she is as a mother, she’s also in full blow addiction — an alcoholic that only thinks of her next drink. You can feel that she truly loves her child, but desperately needs help. With her addiction, Sonya has repeated bad decisions, dangerous situations, and ruined her relationships.

“Sonya is forced to make a choice. Give up drinking or lose Tommy—forever.”

Lisa Harding has shown us the true paralysis of alcoholism, the day to day struggles in the life of an alcoholic. This is an incredibly powerful and moving novel that brings out the most unsettling feelings. Bright Burning Things is raw and intense, immersing me 100% into seeing addiction from a completely different perspective. Hopefully this book will help others look at addiction from a different viewpoint too.

*Caution for triggers

Much thanks to HarperVia and NetGalley for kindly providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.