In Becky Mandelbaum’s The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals, we’re introduced to Mona who runs The Bright Side, an animal sanctuary that’s seen better days, and her daughter Ariel, who, wanting more than just a farm life, ran away from it all six years ago, moving from St. Clare to Lawrence in Kansas. Mona and Ariel have been estranged for the entirety of those six years until a fire at The Bright Side — a hate crime committed by an old friend of Ariel’s — shows up in the news, and Ariel decides maybe it’s time to go back home and make amends. Staying behind in Lawrence is her fiance, Dex, who knows nothing about her past life in St. Clare, has never met her mother or even knows that she runs an animal sanctuary. Confused by her sudden departure (and why she’s taken so much sexy lingerie with her), Dex decides to follow her soon after.
Without notice, Ariel shows up in St. Clare to find that nothing has changed with regard to the sanctuary and her mom. Her first love, Gideon, who works for her mom and with whom she also cut off all contact, is also unchanged, a factor that plunges her further into the throes of confusion where her feelings are concerned. However, Gideon is now engaged to marry Joy, the daughter of her mother’s close friend, a bright, positive, and friendly girl, who is perfect for Gideon. Still, Ariel doesn’t understand why she can’t just be happy for them. Ariel’s old life and her new life soon begin to clash once Dex arrives at The Bright Side. He learns about Ariel’s past life in St. Clare, while Mona and Gideon learn about her new life in Lawrence, neither side quite able to marry the Ariel they know to the Ariel that is now being revealed to them, one only a shadow of what the other has become, down to the pronunciation of her name.
Ariel begins to realize that in spite of the passing of six years, she’s never tried to figure out who she is or what she wants, opting instead to run from the places where she’s had trouble fitting in.
The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals is a charming, heartwarming story about what it means to love someone unconditionally. Mandelbaum cleverly juxtaposes the relationship between the animals and their humans to that of the humans and their romantic counterparts as well as their relatives. As Ariel navigates shame and guilt upon her return to The Bright Side, she also begins to understand that though there was a conflict of wants and many misunderstandings, that she ran away never meant that she had been automatically banished forever.
Though a lot of questions remain unanswered at the end of the book — Will the sanctuary be saved? Will Ariel and Dex be able to repair their relationship? Will Ariel find her place at the sanctuary or will she return to Lawrence? — we’re not left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. What Mandelbaum presents to us with her novel is a slice of life: a relatable moment in the story of Ariel in which she’s come at a crossroads, where she learns that the specifics don’t matter as much when you’ve got the love and support of those closest to you. The point of the story is not to find out what happens but to understand that whatever Ariel chooses is her choice and she will still be loved and accepted in the end. When the news on TV is exhausting and your social media feeds are packed with the nonsense of the world, The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals is the book you reach for to remind yourself that there are still things in life that can bring comfort and simple joy to our lives, like the pure, unconditional love of a pet or the unyielding support of our loved ones.