" This Bright Beauty is a tender, heartbreakingly real look into the havoc that mental illness wreaks in the lives of friends and family. As if she were an artist painting a portrait, Cavanagh uses words to paint a tale that you will be unable to turn away from and that, hopefully, will leave you with a better understanding of and more empathy for those who bravely struggle to fight against the inner demons of mental illness. You will fall in love with Cavanagh's characters and ache for them. In my forty years in the helping profession it has been rare to read a work of fiction that so accurately captures the pathos of both patients and family members who bravely strive for a life of normalcy. I tip my hat to the author and thank her." --David Johnson, bestselling author of The Tucker Series " This Bright Beauty grabbed me on page one and didn't let go even after I turned the last page. I loved it! It is an extremely well-written novel about sisterhood, family, and how the secrets we keep hold us together while tearing us apart." --Elizabeth LaBan, bestselling author of Not Perfect "Almost everyone agrees that there's no more complicated relationship than the one that exists between sisters.

Unless we're talking about twin sisters. And one of those twins suffers from bipolar disorder. That's the premise behind Emily Cavanagh's wonderful novel, This Bright Beauty . Two sisters, one illness, and a long-buried secret are at the root of it all. Through the deftly woven perspectives of both sisters, Cavanagh gives us glimpses into the sisters' early history; the gradual descent of one twin into mental illness, while the other desperately fights to hold what's left of her family together. The gut-wrenching flips between the bright and dark sides of the bipolar coin are vividly rendered, as are the slow fraying of sisterly bonds and the ever-present angst of waiting for the next inevitable unraveling. They say a GOOD book incorporates all the senses, and I totally agree. But for me, a GREAT book incorporates all the 'feels' and This Bright Beauty certainly does.

Sparkling prose, raw emotion, and a keen sensitivity to subject combine to make this a read that's definitely worth savoring." --Barbara Davis, author of When Never Comes and Love, Alice.