I enjoyed this novel immensely and praise Susan Meissner's lyrical and gentle prose. I felt I knew Pauline, Evelyn, Maggie and Willa very well by the end of the story. The presence of death as it touched the lives of these family members and their friends was unforgettable and very moving.Īlternating chapters, from the point of view of each female character in the family, offered a window for the reader to experience firsthand the hopes, dreams, joys and sorrows of these women as they tried to cope with the challenges of their lives. That the Bright family lived in and helped to run a funeral home during those tragic times proved to be a sombre but ultimately hopeful setting for this story.

I spent much time in the city in my own childhood, exploring places mentioned in the book like Wanamaker's Department Store. My parents lived in there as young children during this devastating epidemic. I was captivated by the setting of this story in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic and America's entrance into The Great War. Highly recommended to gain a most humbling respect for those who endured the era. This novel puts these events in grisly perspective with the intimate telling of one family's story and leaves one to wonder how others, possibly those close, were similarly impacted. While we generally remember 1918-19 as the time period of the Great War, which also figures prominently in the novel, the Spanish Flu is usually a mere footnote to the time. I found this book fascinating and difficult to put down. The story unfolds slowly at first but each character is well known by the time the unraveling begins. What is thought to be a new beginning for them and their three daughters begins to unravel as friends and family begin to fall ill. Now they deliver the body to the undertaker, allow him to do all the preparation and funeral planning. No longer do families care for the deceased in their own homes. Pauline and Thomas are moving to Philadelphia to take over Uncle Fred's undertaking business.

Her novel As Bright As Heaven chronicles the disease through one family's experiences. 'The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19 was the deadliest disease in history.Fifty million people worldwide are estimated to have died from Spanish Flu.' acknowledges author Susan Meissner.

Susan meissner as bright as heaven