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Bright Burning Things

Lisa Harding
Contents ( 50)
  1. CONTENTS
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. A Note on the Author

More praise for Bright Burning Things

‘Like Room, where parenthood is at once your jail and your salvation, it is almost claustrophobic – but in the most glorious way’ Lisa Taddeo

‘Instantly engrossing. Sonya’s emotional interiority is fascinating and compelling, and I really cared about her and Tommy – they felt very real to me’ Marian Keyes

‘Sonya is a gorgeously rendered character. Her struggle with identity and control and the corrosive effects of dysfunctional family dynamics, childhood trauma and skewed expectations is told with such empathy and flair’ Donal Ryan

‘Lisa Harding is a vivid and original stylist and a gifted storyteller – this is a fabulous novel’ Kevin Barry

‘A gripping, atmospheric and deeply truthful novel from a writer whose work I love’ Joseph O’Connor

‘Unputdownable; infuriating, nerve-wracking and hugely enjoyable’ Roddy Doyle

‘A fearless, fully compelling and illuminating look at one young woman’s journey through addiction towards a greater understanding of herself and the richness of parenthood. I was both shaken and completely absorbed’ Jane Urquhart

‘Startling, urgent and intimate’ Lisa McInerney

‘A shattering portrait of the divided self … Walks the razor’s edge between addiction and recovery in prose that is searing, sensual and merciful’ Paul Lynch

‘A uniquely disquieting account of a mind sinking into the depths and rising again’ Megan Hunter

‘A powerful tale of addiction and recovery … This is one of those novels that stays in your head long after you’ve finished reading it’ Christine Dwyer Hickey

‘Captures the fragility of our fractured minds and illuminates our power to break legacies of hurt’ Jessica Andrews

‘A gritty, uncomfortable and profoundly moving read … I couldn’t put it down’ Elaine Feeney

‘Bright Burning Things is an absorbing study in make-or-break, an achingly honest examination of fall from grace, a riveting will-shewon’t-she redemption tale, and I loved it’ Alan McMonagle

BRIGHT BURNING THINGS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Harvesting

CONTENTS

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. A Note on the Author

One fire burns out another’s burning,
One pain is lessen’d by another’s anguish.

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

And all my mother came into mine eyes
And gave me up to tears.

William Shakespeare, Henry V

1

There she is, lethal and irresistible, my high-kicking sidekick, and there goes that minx of a song, ‘Impossibly Beautiful’, and there is the sky so high and the light so bright and the sand warm velvet beneath the soles of my bare feet, and here comes the rush, an intense feeling of connection with all that is right and good in this world: my son’s sticky hand in mine as he stares at the sky, my dog trotting alongside, his black coat glinting in the sunlight.