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    As Bright as Heaven
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    As Bright as Heaven
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    As Bright as Heaven
    Audiobook13 hours

    As Bright as Heaven

    Written by Susan Meissner

    Narrated by Tavia Gilbert, Jorjeana Marie, Abigail Revasch and Cassandra Morris

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.

    In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters—Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa—a chance at a better life.

    But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without—and what they are willing to do about it.

    As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 6, 2018
    ISBN9780525531081
    Unavailable
    As Bright as Heaven
    Author

    Susan Meissner

    Susan Meissner is a USA TODAY bestselling author with more than three-quarters of a million books in print in eighteen languages. Her novels have been named to numerous "best of" lists, including Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Goodreads, and Real Simple magazine. A former newspaper editor, Susan attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their yellow Lab, Winston. When she's not writing, Susan loves long walks, good coffee, and reading bedtime stories to her grandchildren. Visit her online at susanmeissnerauthor.com; Instagram: @susanmeissnerauthor; Twitter: @SusanMeissner; Facebook: @susan.meissner; and Pinterest: @SusanMeissner.

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    Reviews for As Bright as Heaven

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    • 3/5
      In 1918 the Bright family leaves a tobacco farm in Quakertown, PA to move to center city Philadelphia. The father is to work for his uncle's funeral parlor, which he would then inherit. They have suffered the devastating--but at that time all too common loss--of a baby. Their grief travels with them into their new life.In the autumn of 1918 the Spanish Influenza hits Philadelphia, leaving over 12,000 dead in its wake. The mortuary fills and the uncle dies. When a daughter falls ill, the mother keeps her alive but, worn down, succumbs and dies of the disease. Friends die, and a beloved neighbor leaves for the trenches of France. Amidst all this loss, one of the daughters rescues an infant in distress in a house full of the dead, and the child becomes the family's heart and reason to go on.The women, the mother and her four daughters, speak in alternating chapters, their unique personalities and perspectives revealed through their own words. Philadelphia has a distinct presence, although fictionalized and geographically ambiguous at times. (The cover photo shows Logan Circle with City Hall in the background.) The time period, between 1918 and 1926, covers the flu and the war but also prohibition and the rise of the speakeasy.The story is about people who suffer great loss and live through horrible times, who carry their ghosts and demons with them, until they are able to see that life goes on and somehow the world can be bright again. My Goodreads friends have rated this a four or five star book and found it very engaging. So I will safely say that readers of historical fiction and woman's fiction will enjoy Meissner's book. SPOILER ALERTSI had several issues with the writing.I lacked emotional connection to the characters. It could be the multitude of voices, but I think it was because the story is too much told and not enough shown. For instance, one daughter develops a crush on an older man who goes to war. He is gone for the bulk of the novel, and returns at age thirty-eight and the girl is still "in love." There is not enough interaction between them to make me believe she is "in love" with him for life. It seems contrived.I found the book preachy and full of clichéd lessons. The ex-soldier, once returned home, consoles his now grown-up lover that the war was horrible and he had to heal. All this healing happened off camera and lacks emotional impact; he is just telling her a lesson he learned. Make peace with the past, he advises. Later, the foundling brother's family is discovered to be alive. The father forgives the Brights, saying that he was angry for a long time by his losses and is finally seeing there is good in life, ending with the old chestnut of 'we are all doing the best we can with what we have'. Nothing new here, kids.And the story wrapped up with far too many predictable and implausible outcomes. I won't even go into them. There is talk of fate and destiny and finding patterns.END OF SPOILER ALERTConsequently, although I had looked forward to reading As Bright As Heaven, especially for its setting and the time period, I found the book an average read. For those who are not familiar with the Spanish Influenza, who like feel-good endings, and who want the horror of history softened by wish fulfillment romantic endings, this is the book for you. It was not my cup of tea.
    • 2/5
      In a year when the flu hit the US much harder than usual, Susan Meissner’s As Bright as Heaven, set during the deadly Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, sparks heightened interest. Following the death of an infant son, the Bright family moves to Philadelphia to aid an elderly uncle with his funeral business. As the flu strikes with a vengeance, the Brights struggle to balance helping those in need and keeping their own family safe and healthy. While categorized as historical fiction, the novel reads more like a melodrama with shallow characters making irresponsible and irrational decisions in exaggerated situations.

      Pauline, the matriarch of the family, and her three daughters, Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa, narrate alternating chapters in the first person perspective. While the four women are easy to differentiate due in part to age and personality differences, the characterization appears lazy and superficial. Once Pauline is established as the mother, that’s all she is. Evelyn never moves beyond her label as the “intellectual,” while Willa, despite a significant leap in time halfway through the novel, is always the needy and selfish baby of the family. Maggie, the middle child and the character with the most substance, eventually loses her charm as she becomes consumed by her obsession with a young man. Poorly fleshed out characters lead to apathy and boredom.

      The novel is separated into two parts, with the first half taking place pre- and post- flu, and the second half jumping ahead seven years to an older, allegedly wiser, family who have rooted themselves in the Philadelphia community. The three daughters have budding careers, but their personalities and decision-making abilities remain static. They do not learn from or even acknowledge the mistakes they made in the past. The tone shift between the two parts is also jarring. It is difficult to jump back and forth between profound tragedies and trivial matters. Whether it be a byproduct of so many different perspectives or not, it does not do the novel any favors, and comes across as insensitive.

      Historical events take a backseat to the everyday lives of the Bright family. Meissner could have placed her characters in any time period and the essence of the novel would not have been affected. Readers who picked it up specifically to read about the Spanish flu will most likely leave disappointed, as it only directly appears in the middle of the novel, causes paranoia and death, and then promptly disappears throughout the last half. The Great War does play a small role, as well as Prohibition, but they are both glossed over quickly and without deep reflection.

      As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner tries and fails to present a moving glimpse into the lives of a family intimate with death during the largest flu pandemic in modern history. Superficial characters, inane plot threads with laughable resolutions, and a lack of delicacy surrounding sensitive topics left me perplexed and disappointed. If you’re in the mood for tragedy dripping with drama, you may leave satisfied, but I still highly doubt it.
    • 5/5
      As Bright As Heaven follows the Bright family as father Thomas, mother Pauline, and their three daughters Evie, Maggie, and Willa make the move from Quakertown, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. We meet the family shortly after the death of their six-month old son Henry. Each family member is trying to cope with the loss of their beloved baby in differing ways. Around the same time Uncle Fred, Thomas’s unmarried uncle, extends an invitation for the family to move to Philadelphia where Thomas can assist Fred in his undertaking business and one day inherit the business as his own. After much discussion, Thomas and Pauline decide to make the move, leaving behind the tobacco business that has been in Thomas’s family for generations.Upon their arrival in Philadelphia, the Bright family settles in although Pauline is finding it difficult to adjust. She feels that since the passing of her infant son, Death has been her constant companion. So in an effort to overcome her fears of death she takes on the job of making the deceased who pass through the funeral home cosmetically presentable for their final appearances. This seems to sooth her and soon she allows her middle daughter Maggie to assist her. Maggie, it appears, has no fear of death or the dying.But ten months later, the Spanish Flu runs rampant. Even as it claims thousands of lives and the demand for caskets exceeds the supply. While Thomas and his uncle work to keep up with the numbers of deceased that arrive on their doorstep at all hours of the day and night, Pauline and Maggie volunteer to take food and medicine to the poorer parts of the city. On one of their trips, while Pauline is tending to a sick woman, Maggie follows the sound of a crying baby and finds a house where the dead mother is still abed, a young girl who appears to be at death’s door is on the sofa, and a baby is in a crib. The infant is dirty and unfed and will surely die if left on its own. Maggie bundles the child into her coat and takes it with her, whispering to the young girl that the baby is now safe. Back at home, the baby is cleaned and fed; the authorities have been notified. But Pauline soon learns that even the orphanages are overloaded and there is no where to place the baby. Perhaps Pauline and her family could care for the child until such time as a family member comes looking for the child? Meantime, young Willa has contracted the Spanish Flu. Pauline concentrates her efforts on caring for her youngest daughter – never leaving her bedside until at long last the young girl turns a corner and her fever breaks. What Pauline and her family thought at first to be exhaustion on the mother’s part soon turns into the flu and it is Pauline’s life that is claimed.We follow the story as the three sisters and their father, now in charge of the funeral home as Uncle Fred also succumbs to the flu, deal with the aftermath of the epidemic. Their lives have all been affected by the loss of family and friends as a result of the sweeping illness – especially the life of Maggie. All of this is set against the backdrop of the beginnings of World War I as well.The Spanish Flu epidemic took my mother’s sister when she was still a child – an aunt I would never know. I must admit that I didn’t know much about the illness before I read this book other than it was horrible. But author Meissner does a terrific job of seamlessly weaving facts with fiction in As Bright As Heaven. She has created characters that you’ll become familiar with instantly. This reader simply couldn’t put down the book. This looks like another winner for Susan Meissner. And if other reviews are any indication, you’ll be totally absorbed in this story.
    • 3/5
      I got caught up in the early parts of this novel, when the Bright family, grieving for the death of an infant son and having financial troubles, leaves their farm for Philadelphia, where the father will partner in his uncle's funeral home. Each female in the family--mother Pauline and daughters Evie, Maggie, and Willa--tell their stories in individual, alternating chapters as they adapt to living and working in a funeral home. The details of the mortician's occupation were something I could have done without yet important to the story. When the 1918 influenza epidemic hits the city, business, sadly, is booming, and everyone is touched by tragedy, including the Brights. The only spark of joy for them is Alex, a baby brought home by middle sister Maggie. While helping her mother, who had been tending to the ill, Maggie entered a home to find a young mother dead, her daughter apparently near death, and her infant son alone. Maggie's thought is that a new baby boy will make the family happy once again.But the war ends, time passes, and this novel starts going downhill, at least for me. The daughters all fall into sappy, ridiculous, and predictable romances, and, one after another, a series of impossible coincidences drives the plot to the expected ending. Other reviewers have said that they wished the author had stayed focused on the war years and the flu epidemic, and I totally agree. We didn't really need speakeasies and insane asylums and broken engagements. Since I'm not a fan of either coming of age stories or romances, I doubt that I will seek out other books by this author.
    • 2/5
      I didn't feel that the book's description was the most accurate depiction of the story that waited inside. Living in a funeral parlor and learning the work of an undertaker were huge parts of the story but were left out of the description. On the other hand, the flu seemed as if it would be a huge part of the story. Instead, it doesn't enter until about 1/3 of the way in and is gone by the 2/3 mark. I would describe the story as being about a family learning to deal with loss. Flu is just one obstacle on the route to recovery. I wish there had been more character growth. Instead, Willa begins the novel as a selfish six year old brat, prone to throwing temper tantrums and making promises she doesn't intend to keep. At the end of the novel, Willa is a selfish fifteen year old brat, prone to throwing temper tantrums and making promises she doesn't intend to keep. Ugh. Even her narration voice stayed the same. Did she not mature at all over the years?Then there was Maggie. She did something, initially with the best intentions, but when she realized maybe she'd made a mistake and would have to give up something she wanted, she lied. She knew the pain she could cause but gave in to selfishness. And when she learns of the suffering her actions have caused others, she still has the nerve to act as if she is the one being wronged. No decency or character growth. Again, ugh.I didn't care for the romances. While there may not be anything abnormal about a 13 year old girl developing a crush on a 21 year old guy, the fact that he wrote her a letter expressing inner thoughts and feelings that he hadn't even revealed to his family creeped me out. As for Evelyn, her romance is at the very least unethical.I know I'm in the minority, but this book frustrated me, and I can not recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Thomas Bright's family moves to Philadelphia to help Uncle Fred with his funeral home. They'd lived near his wife Pauline's family, but they wanted a better life. Evie loved books so she loved perusing her uncle's library as well as the nearby public library. Maggie found making friends a bit more difficult but she struck up a friendship with Charlie Sutcliffe and his older brother Jamie who lived across the street. Willa, the youngest, made friends easily. The war raged in Europe. Jamie's draft number came up. Thomas, now well-versed in the undertaker's trade, signed up for the medical corps to avoid the front lines. The flu hits Philadelphia hard. Schools close. Pauline volunteers with the women at church to take food to families affected. Maggie goes along, discovering a baby crying with a mother dead from flu and a sister she believes will die soon. "Alex" as the family calls him comes home to live with them. Thomas informs the authorities in the event family members seek him out. Willa comes down with the flu and recovers, but then Pauline comes down with it. Uncle Fred calls Thomas home from the training camp because of the family emergency. Life will never be the same for the Bright family. After the end of the war, the book takes up in the year 1925 where we see how the events of 1918 still affect the family. This book is beautiful. During the war sections, I considered awarding this book 5 stars. Although the mid-1920s sections were strong, they just failed to mesmerize me as the earlier sections did. Willa's under-age performances, and Evie's responsibility for a divorce caused this. Still, the authored penned a beautiful historical novel that captivates readers.
    • 5/5
      "You want to fix what hurts the moment it starts hurting, but this time you're going to have to embrace the slowness of healing." Loss and healing are at the very center of Susan Meissner's newest novel, As Bright As Heaven, and as much as the story tore my heart out and stomped on it, it then proceeded to sew it back up and make it whole again. The story revolves around the Bright family and their move to Philadelphia not long before the Spanish Influenza of 1918, which took out tens of thousands of people in Philadelphia alone; tens of millions worldwide. It's hard to say much in case I reveal parts of the story that should be left for the reader to discover for him/her/themselves. There is so much good here. So much wonderful storytelling. It is indeed a hefty book, coming in at around 400 pages, but this feels like a necessary length to get all the Brights' stories out completely.I grew to adore all the Brights (even little Willa, self-centered as she was) because they all suffered so greatly, yet none of them gave up on living. Certainly hope was lost, how can it not in such dire times as a pandemic that's wiping your friends and family out left right and center? But the continuation of life and determination to not stop, even when you feel like there is no other choice but to stop, was a main theme in As Bright As Heaven. Each Bright girl grapples with her own struggles, internally and externally. Meissner gives each girl an individuality and a uniqueness that I so enjoyed reading about and warming to. There are some oddities to these stories woven into the book as a whole that I found strange, but I do not wish to share them here, as they would be too revealing. I would absolutely love to chat about this book if you'd like in private though!This is a beautiful, heartwarming story. Thank you so much to BookishFirst, the publishers and the author for a chance to read this in advance.
    • 5/5
      I have to admit, at first, I didn't really feel anything for this family at the beginning. I even considered packing it away. However, the more I read, the more I felt. This family went through a whole bunch of hardships most families face, but they also had the Great War and the Influenza Flu epidemic. The latter really hitting the family and those around them really bad.I really was moved by this book and thoroughly enjoyed my journey with this family. By the end of the book, I was actually sorry to see them go. Ending it on a somewhat more happy note really made the tears flow.An incredible story of a family who loved, lost and lived.Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
    • 5/5
      In 1918, with the Great War under way, but not yet having a big impact at home in America, the Bright family moves from Quakertown to Philadelphia. Thomas Bright has been asked to join his Uncle Fred's undertaker business, and eventually be his heir.

      It's not Thomas's viewpoint, or Fred's, that we see this story from. It's Thomas's wife, Pauline, and their three daughters, Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa, who tell the story.

      All seems bright and hopeful when they arrive. Evelyn has access both to her uncle's own library, and to the public library not far away. Maggie makes friends with Charlie Sutcliffe, and his older brother, Jamie, who live across the street. Willa makes new friends. Thomas learns to be an undertaker, and in time, a fully trained mortician. Fred is reluctant to agree, at first, but Pauline takes over the cosmetics for the dead, once they are embalmed and any major injuries repaired by Thomas and Fred. Even more gradually and reluctantly, Maggie is allowed to join her mother in that final preparation of the dead. They both find comfort and fulfillment in it.

      Then things change. Jamie Sutcliffe is drafted. Thomas enlists so that he can get assigned as a medic rather than infantry. The Brights and the Sutcliffes adjust to life without Thomas and Jamie, but that's only the start. Stories of an exceptionally nasty influenza, called the Spanish flu more by accident than any good reason--and it's not long before the flu makes its way to Philadelphia.

      Philadelphia was one of the hardest-hit American cities in what was possibly the deadliest pandemic in human history. The Brights and the Sutcliffes work their way through it, as the undertaking business becomes dramatically harder, and dramatically more heartbreaking. Both the numbers of the dead, and the potential threat of spreading the disease from handling them, makes speed, efficiency, and preventing gatherings of the family and friends terrible and necessary steps.

      All four of the Bright ladies try to find their way to do the right things, the sensible things, the moral things in this time of trouble.

      Not all of them will survive.

      This is a very finely crafted and humane story, with beautifully developed characters.

      Highly recommended.

      I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      What could possibly be As Bright as Heaven?Readers may be mystified by the title and guess, as I did, that it will turn out to be Hope and Promise.The tragic challenges faced by the mother, daughters, and the nearly abandoned baby illuminate anentire history of Philadelphia that many readers have never encountered, beginning with The Spanish Flu.This epidemic in the United States was overshadowed by World War I and its infinite horrors,as John Dos Passos wrote "And this was what all the centuries of Civilization had struggled for."
    • 4/5
      This historical fiction novel takes place in in 1918, when the world was stricken with the great influenza known as “The Spanish Flu.” Some 675,000 Americans died from it, with the hardest-hit city being Philadelphia, where this story is set. Thirty percent of Philadelphia residents contracted the flu, and more than 12,000 of them died in a short period of time.The city was hit so hard for two main reasons. One was that there were many troops stationed there, with soldiers and sailors who had contracted the disease while abroad fighting World War I bringing it back to the cramped naval bases and military quarters. Second, against the advise of medical workers, the city sponsored a huge parade on September 28, 1918 to raise bonds for the war and to boost morale. More than 200,000 people turned out. The germs spread like wildfire.This novel tells the story of Pauline and Thomas Bright, who moved at the beginning of 1918 from a small town in Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Tom’s Uncle Fred had offered him a job as an undertaker in his mortuary business, with the prospect of inheriting it when his uncle was gone.The story is told from four points of view: that of Pauline, and of each of her three daughters: Evie - 15, Maggie - 12, and Willa, 6. There was also a new baby brother, Henry, but he died just recently from a defective heart. The family was of course deeply affected by the loss of the little boy.Pauline has been preoccupied with death since Henry died. Now she feels Death’s silent presence by her side almost like a companion (in a way reminiscent of The Book Thief). She feels Death hovering over her. She constantly muses on the nature of Death, and why some are taken and some are not, and comes to conclude: “I am sure now that Death is not the enemy….” Death “spreads its reach with the tender embrace of an angel, not the talons of a demon.” She muses: “We are like butterflies, delicate and wonderful here on earth for only a brilliant moment and then away we fly. Death is appointed to merely close the door to our suffering and open wide the gate to Paradise.”But the real focus of the story is Maggie. It does seem as if her voice sounds much older than a 12-year-old. But if you overlook that and just follow the plot, the story rapidly becomes more engrossing. The family moves in with Uncle Fred, above the Bright Funeral Home, and they take on new roles. Tom is an undertaker now, and Pauline helps with the cosmetic work on the bodies. Maggie makes friends with the two boys across the street - Charlie, who is 16 and “simpleminded” and Jamie, 21, who is getting ready to leave for Fort Meade to join the war. Maggie befriends Charlie, and develops a crush on Jamie. She also begs to help her mother prepare the bodies.Before long, Tom, 36, is also called up to serve in a field hospital to help with the influenza cases that been inundating military camps. And then the big parade is held to raise liberty bonds, and the civilians are struck down by the flu as well. Some seven thousand died in just 11 days. The city morgue gets too full for all the bodies, and the mortuary cannot keep up.Maggie accompanies Pauline to bring soup to the afflicted, and while Pauline is inside a house, Maggie finds an abandoned baby and rescues him. They bring him home, with Maggie convinced he is their compensation for Henry. Meanwhile, Willa contracts the flu and Pauline must stay by her side constantly. Maggie and Evie take care of the new baby they call Alex. Evie knows Maggie is not telling the whole truth about the baby, but they both get too involved in caring for it.Before long, the flu affects the Bright family as well, and once again, all of them have to take on new roles.Then the story picks up seven years later, in 1925, and we learn what happened to all the characters who made it through that horrible year in 1918 of loss and suffering.Discussion: The author does an excellent job limning the impact the flu had on the lives of Philadelphians - even the children, who, when the schools reopened, had to face finding out which of their teachers and classmates had died. She also highlights the ways in which the survivors of both the war and flu may not have always had visible wounds, but no one had survived the year unscathed. The story focuses on survival in the face of tragedy and loss, and the tenacity of the human spirit. It also has an almost religious bent, although it is Death, rather than God, that plays a major role.Evaluation: This engrossing story is deeply affecting, and will also help shed light on an era that is not well-known in U.S. history.
    • 5/5
      Kudos to author Susan Meissner whose thorough historical research provides solid ground on which she wove a stunningly beautiful and rich story of family, love, sorrow, regret, tragedy, endurance and joy. The precious nuggets of wisdom found within the book's pages are true gems. I savored each and every one of them.This exquisitely written historical fiction book presents the life of the Bright family starting in 1918 and concluding in 1926. They had recently been struck by grief and find themselves moving to Philadelphia from Quakertown for opportunity and a fresh start. Mr. Bright is the sole relative of an aging uncle who owns a Philadelphia mortuary. The uncle would like to pass on the business to his nephew but first must teach him the ropes. In early 1918, no one could have imagined how vital that training would become as the Spanish Flu pandemic took hold of the entire world to the tune of 50 million lives lost. Philadelphia, in October 1918, was particularly hard hit. The story also weaves in historical elements concerning the Great War, Prohibition and current day psychology and psychiatric practices.The story is told in alternating chapters through the voices and thoughts of the four strong Bright women; mother Pauline and daughters Evelyn (age 15), Maggie (age 12) and Willa (age 6). Each brings to the fore a different perspective regarding their observations and shared experiences. Through Death's indiscriminate taking of lives, an orphaned infant is added to the Bright household. As much as the Bright's care for this child had likely spared him from the disease, he too, as it turned out, was a blessing to a yet grieving family. During my own recent family genealogical digging, I've discovered several relatives stricken by this horrific flu pandemic. I found this story poignant as it gave voice to those family members taken so early in their lives. I am grateful to author Susan Meissner, publisher Penguin Random House and Goodreads First Reads for having provided a free advance reading copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Synopsis (from back cover of Advance Reading Copy):From the darkest hours rises life in all its glory…Even as its young men go off to fight in the Great War, there are opportunities for a fresh start on Philadelphia’s cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town come Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with the hope that they can now give their three daughters – Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa – a chance at a better life.Their dreams are short-lived. Just months after they arrive, the Spanish flu claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby, orphaned by the disease, who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges that surround them they learn what they cannot live without – and what they are willing to do about it.
    • 5/5
      This was another fantastic book from Susan Meissner. I have enjoyed all of her books but this one is my favorite - at least until her next book comes out.This novel starts about 1917 when the Bright family decides to move to Philadelphia to better their lives. The dad has been given a chance to learn the mortuary business and eventually take over his uncle's funeral home. The family has been given beautiful room above the mortuary to live in. The novel is told in four alternating female voices - the Mom - Pauline and the three sisters, Evelyn, Maggie and Willa. As they begin to try to make friends in school, their lives are getting ready to change. The Spanish Flu epidemic hits Philadelphia and in fact the whole country with disastrous results. According to the author in the afterword, more than 12,000 people died in Philadelphia. The flu didn't discriminate between the rich and poor and didn't leave the Bright family untouched. After the flu epidemic is over, life will never be the same for the family and they struggle for normalcy and learn what is truly important in life.This was a wonderful well-researched novel about a subject that I knew little about. It's always wonderful to read such a compelling book and learn more history at the same time. The characters were so well written that I laughed and cried with them throughout the book. If you enjoy historical fiction - this is a must read.I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought’s Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      Wow, did this book pack a punch. Stunningly written and the story itself was full of the darkest and lightest moments in life. It is a serious tearjerker but it leaves you full of hope. It's told from four POVs, a mother and her three daughters, over the course of several years. Normally alternating POVs are just not my thing, but the writing in this one was done so well I was seamlessly able to transition from character to character without noticing any interruption. If you love a good historical family saga definitely give this one a try. Thanks very much to the publisher for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      From a small town in Pennsylvania as a family rolling tobacco leaves for a living to Philadelphia as a family living and working in a funeral home.The Brights made a big change from their quiet life in Quakertown to the noisy, big city of Philadelphia. Both the city and the job Thomas Bright had were quite different from what they were used to.The girls had to leave their friends and make new ones, but most folks weren't interested in being friends with a funeral director's daughter. Pauline Bright was always solemn and quiet since the death of her infant son, but she seemed a bit better but different in Philadelphia. Along with the change in their lives comes Thomas going off to war and then the Spanish flu arriving full force and killing thousands.AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN has the reader following and becoming immersed in the lives of the Bright family. They were a sweet, unassuming family that you will want to be a part of and to get to know better.The reader will also learn about The Spanish Flu and its devastation of the population around the world. If you are like me, you will do research of your own about the Spanish Flu.Ms. Meissner has written another touching book that teaches us some history as well as teaches us about the goodness of mankind and its generosity in times of a crisis.Another marvelous, heartfelt read by Ms. Meissner you won't want to miss. You will fall in love with the characters and won't want the book to end.AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN has a beautiful story line, beautiful research, and beautiful characters. You will also need a few tissues. 5/5This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher, NetGalley, and BookishFirst. I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
    • 4/5
      1918, Philadelphia, a city with many opportunities, a city that the Bright family, Pauline, Thomas and their three daughters move to for just that purpose. Thomas's elderly, childless uncle wants them to live in his large house, and for Thomas to train and takeover his mortuary business. Leaving Quakertown behind, this is what the family looks forward to, a new and better life, especially after the tragedy of a terrific loss.I fell in love with this family, and we hear individually from each of them in alternating chapters. Things look promising for them but then the Spanish flu comes to call, an unwelcome Spector that causes further loss. Such a winning combination of characters, history and a first hand look at the devastation of War. The Spanish flu hit Philadelphia extremely hard, the hardest in the nation and caused untold hardship and heartache for many. The Bright family will lose much but also gain a baby in an unusual manner, and this child will keep the family moving forward.We watch as the girls grow, but there is a secret one is keeping that will come back to haunt. Prohibition is also instated at this time so we also are treated to a look at some of the results of this act. This is a wonderfully told story, rich in family, love, and history. So many details make this book stand out, details for n the mortuary business and in everyday lives. Sorrows and hurts, joys and happiness. An immersive story that tugs at the heart.ARC from bookbrowse and publisher.
    • 5/5
      Sue Meissner’s books just get better and better with each new one; every time I pick up her latest book I hope that it will be as good as her last ones, and instead I end up liking the newest one the most. Very few authors can sustain that level of excellence; it is quite an impressive feat. As Bright as Heaven is simply fantastic: Meissner’s tale is fascinating, heartbreaking and an all-around beautifully written book. Moreover, her characters are well-developed, authentic and believable. Using the four Bright females as narrators was a solid and effective choice; their various stories are slowly unfurled as the pages fly by. Each female character has a distinct personality, and I was constantly awestruck at how Meissner chose the perfect individual to reveal a particular secret or fact. I knew virtually nothing about the Spanish Flu epidemic in the United States (I knew that it had devastated parts of Europe) at the end of World War 1 before I read As Bright as Heaven. Learning about events like this is one of my favorite things about historical fiction, and I especially enjoyed that aspect in this book because it was a significant event about which I am glad I now know occurred. In her Author’s Note, Meissner states that the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 was the deadliest disease in history, significantly worse than the Black Plague, and she chose it because it was an untold story. I am so glad that she did.There are times when I am reading a novel, and the events occurring are such that I cannot see an ending that will be satisfactory to me. There were two such plot lines in As Bright as Heaven. Without including any spoilers, Meissner managed to wrap both issues up successfully (one better than the other but both reasonable resolutions) which I felt was no small feat.I highly, highly recommend As Bright as Heaven. I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought’s Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      This is the type of story that, upon reading the last page, you slowly close the book, close your eyes, sigh and reflect. So many emotions roil through your mind and it takes some thought to allow them to settle.I didn’t know what to expect from As Bright As Heaven. I’ve read other books by Susan Meissner, (Secrets of a Charmed Life is a favorite) so I was confident the author was a gifted storyteller who infuses deep emotion in her work, and I was drawn in by the exquisite cover art. But upon choosing a book to read, I normally only skim over the blurb to avoid learning ‘too much,’ so all I basically knew was the story was set in Philadelphia during the First World War.I’m glad I didn’t know more, because learning each aspect of the multi-faceted story as it happened surprised me, grabbed me, and refused to release me. The storyline is riveting, the storytelling is stunning, and each heartbreaking challenge encountered is delicately wrapped in the hope and strength of the human spirit.The story is presented in two parts, before the First World War and Spanish Flu pandemic (1918-1919) and after (1925.) The narration is voiced from the four riveting first-person points of view; the mother and three daughters of the Bright family—Pauline, Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa.I became attached to each girl. They have distinct voices and views of the world, but I mostly connected and sympathized with Maggie. Perhaps because I’m also a middle sister.Not only was I drawn into the Bright’s story, and pulled into the early 1900s and the hardships and atrocities endured and succumbed to, but I also learned much about the history of the Influenza (Spanish Flu) pandemic—the deadliest disease in history! I also have a better understanding of what it meant to be the wife and daughter of an undertaker during this time period, how widespread the Spanish Flu was distributed, precautions taken (or not,) and how bodies were delivered, prepared, and presented (or not) during the outbreak.The Bright family finds themselves in a new city, new home, and new life after the death of their youngest Bright, only months-old, baby Henry. With death, war, sickness, and heartbreak around every corner, will they have the strength and desire to do more than exist in the new world they’ve been propelled into?Without giving you more of a description or breakdown of the story, I can tell you that you will learn a lot.You will most likely shed some tears, and find yourself in the circle of life and death, sadness and hope, heartbreak and healing. You might even wonder why you’re willingly putting yourself through such a host of emotions. But upon completion of the book, I doubt you’ll be able to forget a single member of the Bright family. And I’m also confident that you’ll be forever changed. Yes. It’s that powerful.As Bright As Heaven is much more than a story. It is a powerful, riveting, unforgettable experience.I received a complimentary copy of this book via BookPleasures.
    • 4/5
      The flu epidemic of 1918 occurred during World War I devastating impact on families is told through the many characters that pass through the door of Uncle Fred’s funeral home. This is a tale of missed opportunities, sadness, and consequences. The setting is accurate to the period. My favorite line in the book comes near the end, “I guess all of us are just doing the best we can with what life hands us”.I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Although encouraged, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
    • 5/5
      The Bright family move from the farm to Philadelphia, where Thomas, the husband, is to become an undertaker. The book alternates between Pauline, the mother, and their daughters, Evelyn, Maggie and Willa. With an outbreak of Spanish flu, their new life is suddenly transformed beyond all belief. When Maggie and Pauline visit the sick to hand out food, Maggie finds a baby and a dying girl in one of the houses. Taking the baby, Maggie pretends that he was alone and that she can't remember where he was found. This was a well written and engaging book. Each point of view was interesting and added to the story. Well paced, the book spanned multiple years, showing how the flu epidemic changed and shaped their lives. I love historical fiction and this is one of the better ones that I've read. Overall, highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      As Bright As Heaven, set in Philadelphia during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, is a dramatic example of the resilience of the human spirit. Heartening and dramatic, the book releases February 2018 from Berkley Penguin Random House.As Bright As Heaven opens with a flash forward scene set in 1918. Pauline Bright stands over the grave where a child has been laid to rest. She falls into reverie about the child’s birth. With that, the story of how she and her husband Thomas came to relocate from a poor tobacco farm to Philadelphia quietly and powerfully reveals itself. The shroud of the Spanish flu epidemic is about to cover the city and the Bright family will be fiercely tested and impacted. Clouds of love and compassion enfold the gravitas of their circumstances.Meissner excels at her craft. Her writing astounds in prose and plot. The tenacity of the human spirit is a signature of her novels. Written with exquisite prose and articulate historical detail, her prose wafts over the reader, pages clipping by like lightening. As Bright As Heaven brims with unforeseen awakenings in the midst of loss. Narrated by various family members, the tension mounts as each reveal their experiences during the plague and experience emotional epiphanies. Characters are fully realized with distinctive personalities. We become completely absorbed into the lives, losses, and triumphs of the Bright family. Meissner includes detail on embalming a dead body, an absorbing side trip. See if you can figure out the surprise ending before you read it. Complex in depth with a sweet aftertaste, As Bright As Heaven is highly recommended.I thank Penguin Random House and Bookish First for the advance reader’s copy.
    • 4/5
      Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors. I have loved all the books that I have read by this very talented author — from her poignant contemporary debut through her richly detailed historical novels. When given the chance to read As Bright As Heaven, I, of course, issued a resounding YES! But I have to say I have mixed feelings about this novel. It is indeed a beautifully written novel set during an unfamiliar (to me) era in US history. But it was a difficult book to read. I said to a friend that it was very true to life, making it messy and filled with sorrow despite the joy. I definitely recommend this one, but this book requires work on the part of the reader, so don’t expect a quick or easy reading experience.The setting of As Bright As Heaven is Philadelphia in 1918 and then skips ahead 7 years to 1925. The book begins in the early days of the United States’ involvement in WWI and before the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic hits the city. The Bright family has made a big transition from tobacco farm to the big city and a new venture for parents, Pauline and Thomas. The story is written in the first person voice of the Bright women, mom Pauline and daughters, Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa, with each chapter alternating perspective. The style of the novel provides an intimate look into each character’s thoughts while spotlighting the family dynamics. As the tragedy and consequences of both the flu and the war unfold, Meissner explores the impact on this family and the community as a whole. The combination of the two large events presents a unique framework to show how lives can be changed quickly and unexpectedly. Meissner certainly did her research — the fear, loss, and desperation of those times are clear. While the book is at times rather dark, the Brights have moments of beauty that keep the soul hoping and living. As one character puts it — “We only see a little bit of our stories at time, and the hard parts remind us too harshly that we’re fragile and flawed. But it isn’t all hard. Your story isn’t all hard parts. Some of it is incredibly beautiful.” That pretty much sums up the book and life in general. The characters are very real — they make bad choices often for the right reasons, and those have unimagined and widespread effects (again very true to life). For those who have read Meissner’s Christian fiction, this book is targeted to the general market and has no overt faith message. However, the author’s worldview informs the novel and breaks through in subtle ways.As Bright As Heaven was a difficult book for me to read. It is a bit unconventional and it touched on difficult circumstances. I didn’t ugly cry during it, but I did have feelings of sorrow for both the characters and those who lived through those difficult times. Meisnner is a very talented writer and has created a beautifully crafted novel. It is a recommended read for me.Recommended.Audience: adults.(Thanks to Berkley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
    • 5/5
      Set during WWI and the outbreak of the Spanish flu epidemic, As Bright as Heaven follows the Bright family and their move to Philadelphia to begin a new life helping their uncle run his funeral business. There are 3 daughters: Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa, who each have their own plans for the future. The family is already under the burden of mourning, and they hope that starting again in a new town may help overcome their grief. The book is organized with multiple points of view, so the reader can understand the family’s situation from different characters’ perspectives.

      The Spanish flu affected everyone during this time, especially a funeral home overwhelmed with the number of victims requiring burial. The flu took the old and young alike, the healthy and the infirm, and there was no explanation for those who recovered and those who did not. On top of the desperation and fear of the flu, men were leaving to fight in the war, leaving behind many women to endure this calamity on their own. This book was well-researched and skillfully organized.

      This story is wholesome; there is little violence, no bad language, and no sex. It’s a book you can lend to your grandmother or your middle-schooler without concern. Despite the lack of the usual sordid inclusions, it’s still a riveting story and the drama doesn’t disappoint.

      As Bright as Heaven had steady pacing, and the plot moved forward with new developments to keep my interest. The writing was superb, never trite or cloying. I read this book in two days, and I always looked forward to reading more. There were no slow sections, no middle-of-the-book slump. I enjoyed the experience of this book,and I’m definitely going to investigate some of this author’s previous work.

      Recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or an easy-to-read, enjoyable story.
      Many thanks to BookishFirst and Penguin Random House for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
    • 3/5
      This novel begins in 1918 during the confluence of the Great War and the Spanish flu. It centers around the Bright family who left the tobacco fields when the father, Tom, is asked to assist his uncle in running a mortuary in Philadelphia where the family will live. The Brights' only son died as an infant leaving his parents and three sisters bereft. The experiences of the family members are seen in first-person accounts in alternating chapters. The unexpected advent of a foster son is shrouded in a mystery known only to the middle daughter, Maggie. They name him Alex and he brings joy to their lives. The mystery of his arrival at their home will have haunting repercussions. Tragedy strikes the family during the flu epidemic; however, the next eight years bring changes to the daughters' lives that ultimately end in happiness. I am in the minority in not giving this book a higher rating, but I found that an interesting premise turned into a stereotypical happily-ever-after ending that lacked credibility. For me, it simply lacked a depth of emotion that would have made it memorable.
    • 4/5
      As Bright As Heaven is the latest novel by Susan Meissner which is set in 1918. Pauline and Thomas Bright along with their family are relocating from Quakertown to Philadelphia. Thomas has been offered the opportunity to work with his uncle, Fred Bright and eventually inherit the Bright Funeral Home. Pauline is hoping it will provide a better life for their family (three daughters: Evelyn, Willa and Maggie) and, after losing her six-month-old son, she feels that Death is near her. A few months later, Thomas is drafted and their neighbor’s son, Jamie Sutcliff goes off to training camp. Then the Spanish Flu arrives with a vengeance and thousands are dying. Pauline and Maggie are taking food to those without family to assist them. Maggie is waiting for her mother and hears a baby crying. She finds the infant’s mother dead, and Maggie feels the baby is a replacement for the brother she lost. The Bright family takes in the child and names him Alex. But then Willa becomes ill with the dreaded flu and Pauline is the next to become infected. Amidst sickness and war there is hope with little Alex. The Bright family will need to band together during this difficult time and find a way to move forward. As Bright As Heaven has a unique point-of-view with the Spanish Flu (instead of focusing on the war). The POV switches between Pauline and the three daughters (told in first person). We get to see life through each of their eyes with each person providing a unique perspective given their ages (Willa is the youngest at 6). It does, though, disrupt the flow of the book (pulls you out of the story). The book is nicely written, but I did find the pace a little slow during the first half of the story. It picks up in the second half as the girls grow older. I thought it was intriguing that Evelyn goes to medical school and is working to become a psychiatrist. This was very unusual for a woman in the 1920s. The characters are well developed, and I appreciated the strong female characters. The author did a good job at portraying the time period, the panic and horror of the Spanish Flu epidemic, how the war affected families, and the changing roles of women in America during the 1920s. As Bright As Heaven has love, sorrow, hope, grief, tragedy, fear and so much more. Get swept back in time in Susan Meisner’s latest novel As Bright As Heaven. Readers who enjoy historical dramas will enjoy reading As Bright As Heaven.
    • 5/5
      As Bright As Heaven starts in 1918 just before the onset of the Spanish flu pandemic and is told in different time periods. Some being month to month then the narration will skip a few years and then move around some more. This story begins after the devastating loss of Henry, the Bright’s youngest child. His death had profoundly affected this family and although Pauline Bright had made it through the loss of her son, she was changed after his death. Her husband had been given an opportunity to take over his uncle’s mortuary business and they decided that moving from Quakertown to Philadelphia would be a good thing for the family. Their daughters would have greater opportunities and with being a wife to an undertaker, Pauline felt she would be able to see death from a different perspective.This story is told from multiple voices, the most predominate being that of Evelyn and Maggie Bright. Each character told their story as it affected them and was unique because they were all in different stages of life. Willa was six at the start of this story and her perspectives were that of a small child and how things revolved around herself. Maggie was twelve and had a keen view of the events taking place around her. Evelyn was the oldest at fifteen and she was more focused on educating herself and being a responsible sister and daughter. Pauline as a mother was focused on starting a life for her family in Philadelphia but she also wanted to understand death and why it seemed to walk beside her. She thought that coming to the funeral home would help her to better understand death.Once they reached Philadelphia it was not long before the family started to feel the effects from World War one. Not only was the war devastating and families were losing loved ones but the Spanish influenza was starting to make its way through the war-torn population and slowly spreading its way out into the world. As the influenza pandemic picked up speed and spread throughout the world it finally made its way to Philadelphia and all the women in this story were affected by loss but the way each one was affected was unique from their perspective. Just considering the magnitude of what it must have been like to live during that time period is almost unfathomable. I could really feel the story through the details that were developed through the setting and the characters.As Bright As Heaven affected me as a mother, as a sister, and as a woman. There were parts of this story that just pulled at my heart so deeply because I could not imagine how they lived with what was happening around them and I shuddered to think that I would ever have to deal with the situations that developed throughout this story. I had never considered the day to day life struggles that people went through during such a time. I loved the honesty that I felt from these characters, their struggles, their indecision, the choices that they made, and how they dealt with the outcomes. All the characters were well developed, complex, and grew from their circumstances. The writing was beautiful and expressive. It was not over the top with anguish although it was there but every story, every embrace, every tragedy was sincere in its expression. I was moved by As Bright As Heaven and I highly recommend this story!This review is based on a complimentary book I received from BookishFirst. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.
    • 3/5
      The early 20th century was a fascinating time full of unique challenges and social change. Susan Meissner has written a well-researched and easy to read novel about a family who moves to Philadelphia just before the outbreak of the Spanish Flu. Telling the story from multiple perspectives, Meissner is able to explore a number of interesting social questions and historical trends. This is both a virtue and a fault. It deepens the historical perspective, but at the cost of more fully realized characters. At times, particularly in the beginning when the main characters were children, I sometimes found it difficult to keep them straight. The ending ties everything up beautifully and things are resolved in a rather fairy tale-like way which is satisfying albeit unrealistic.
    • 5/5
      Great story! I knew nothing about the Spanish flu epidemic and to weave it into such a fascinating story. The narration well done. I liked how Willa’s voice matured and her story became more in depth as she matured during the story. Good ending!
    • 5/5
      I loved this book!!! Beautifully written! A must read
    • 4/5
      From the beginning of the book I was completely hooked. The book portrays the awfulness that families went through during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918. While I loved the character development, there was just some things in the 2nd half of the book that I didn't love that makes me give this 4 stars instead of 5. I don't want to ruin the plot, but I feel like there were things that were intended for character development but that I didn't feel added to the storyline. Overall I loved Meissners writing and the voices of each girl through the changing narration (especially early on) were well done. The narrators of the audiobook were perfect, if you are a fan of audiobooks this is a good one!