Lisa Harding

7 hours, 58 minutes “Lisa Harding is a vivid and original stylist and a gifted storyteller. This is a fabulous novel.”—Kevin Barry, author of Night Boat to Tangier “On every page there are little shimmering bombs. Like Room, where parenthood is at once your jail and your salvation, it is almost claustrophobic—but in the most glorious way.”—Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women A rising international literary star makes her American debut with this visceral, tender, and brave portrait of addiction, recovery, and motherhood, as harrowing and intense as Shuggie Bain. Sonya used to perform on stage. She attended glamorous parties, dated handsome men, rode in fast cars. But somewhere along the way, the stage lights Sonya lived for dimmed to black. In their absence, came darkness—blackouts, empty cupboards, hazy nights she could not remember. Haunted by her failed career and lingering trauma from her childhood, Sonya fell deep into an alcoholic abyss. What kept her from losing herself completely was Tommy, her son. But her love for Tommy rivaled her love for the bottle. Addiction amplified her fear of losing her child; every maternal misstep compelled her to drink. Tommy’s precious life was in her shaky hands.  Eventually Sonya was forced to make a choice. Give up drinking or lose Tommy—forever. Bright Burning Things is an emotional tour-de-force—a devastating and nuanced look at an addict’s journey towards rehabilitation and redemption. 

Jessica and Linda have been best friends since the first day of school. Both are from broken, but different, homes, and willful Jessica has always ensured their survival. Now eighteen, the two have come to Wilde—an elite university in the heart of Dublin, far away from their troubled childhoods. Jessica thrives immediately and, with the faithful Linda by her side, finds herself at the heart of a new friend circle. Then Mark enters the picture. A philosophy student a few years older than them, he has strange and compelling ideas about self-discovery. When Linda and Mark start dating, Jessica is disturbed by the change in her friend—and how quickly she seems to have fallen under the charismatic man’s control. But Mark’s influence is not limited to Linda. Soon Jessica's group of friends are keeping secrets for him, and it will culminate in ways that change their lives forever.