The REVIEWS are in!

  Thelen-Heidel recounts a childhood shaped by her mother’s destructive decisions in this debut memoir.  

Bridey moved a lot as a kid; by the time she graduated high school, she had attended 22 schools. The reason was  her mother’s poor judgment concerning men—poor when it came to choosing them, poor when it came to keeping them, and poor when it came to keeping Bridey safe from them. From a silver school bus in Juneau, Alaska, to a motel in South  Lake Tahoe, California, and many points in between, the moves frequently came without warning or explanation, leaving  the author adrift and lonely as her relationships with friends, relatives, father figures, and even her dog—with anyone, in fact, besides her mother, the drug-using, party-loving Frankie—were abruptly and unceremoniously severed. Often left to figure out the ways of the world on her own (and to defend herself from the occasionally predatory behavior of her mom’s boyfriends), Bridey was forced to grow up quickly, doing her best to protect herself and, eventually, her younger sister,  Bephens. 

Eventually, the author came to realize that her mother’s decisions could cost the smart, ambitious Bridey her  shot at the life she wanted—and that Frankie was not simply the person who kept letting monsters into their lives but was, perhaps, a monster herself. 

Thelen-Heidel’s prose possesses both a charming warmth and a lyrical eye for the world  around her. Here she describes seeing one of the many houses she and Frankie lived in for the first time: “A gust of wind  slaps sticks and small rocks against the mud stained in patterns on the stucco—some darker and some light— reminding  me of the patterns of bruises we’ve tried to heal—some deep and some old. All stained.” It’s a difficult read in many ways,  but the young Bridey is such an irrepressible protagonist that it’s easy for the reader to find inspiration amid the squalor  and heartache.  

A deftly rendered portrait of a tragically toxic mother-daughter relationship 

 Born in the early 1970s, five-year-old Bridey enjoyed a relatively peaceful life until she didn’t. Bridey’s mom told her the man she always knew as her father was not her parent. Her mom moved her from one city to another and changed schools more times than she bought new clothes. Frankie (Bridey’s mom) also had countless live-in boyfriends who were dangerous and irresponsible. Bridey witnessed various forms of abuse toward her mom and served as a protector. She also suffered abuse from her mom and boyfriends while dealing with the trauma that followed until she got into a private college. Life was beautiful for a while until Frankie called again. 

Will Bridey ever be free from her mother’s manipulation? 

Find out in Bright Eyes: Surviving Our Monsters And Learning to Live Without Them, a memoir by Bridey Thelen-Heidel.

Bright Eyes by Bridey Thelen-Heidel is a memoir that every parent and anyone responsible for children must read. However, survivors might be triggered by the abuse and violence mentioned in this book. The themes include violence, abuse, trauma, parental neglect, trauma bonding, and survival. 

Bridey’s story moved me deeply. I want to celebrate the author’s strength, resilience, patience, kindness, and focus. I understand how difficult it can be to walk away from a parent, especially as a minor. Bridey cannot be blamed for always taking the bait because she grew up in chaos and didn’t understand the concept of order and calmness. However, she jumped through the hoops life threw at her and rose to greatness. Mac and everyone who gave Bridey a chance and something to grasp have my respect. 

Thank you for documenting this shocking and frightening experience, Bridey. 

Life can only get better.

BRIGHT EYES is a page-turning memoir you'll read quickly and won't soon forget. 

In gritty prose laying bare on the page a hardscrabble home life marked by trauma and abuse, Bridey Thelen-Heidel has a cinematic eye and a poet's voice. This is not just a book of how Thelen-Heidel survives, but how she ultimately thrives in the life she creates from the rubble. 

Readers of Mary Karr and Cheryl Strayed will recognize an important new voice in American memoir. 

BRIGHT EYES: A Memoir plays the music of  despair, but also of shining, satisfying redemption. Heidel is its fearless singer.

 -Alice Anderson, award-winning poet and bestselling author of Some Bright Morning, I'll Fly Away

"At once tender and fierce, Bright Eyes is an astonishing story of perseverance and the power of hope. In clear, sharp prose, Bridey Thelen-Heidel reclaims the narrative of her life from the monsters who shaped her early years. 

Bright Eyes is engaging, essential, and impossible to put down."

-Jen Bryant, Editor, MUTHA Magazine

Bright Eyes: A Memoir hooks you from the start with its vivid and often heartrending scenes. 

Bridey Thelen-Heidel writes with such clear prose, the reader is immediately drawn into a world that’s often heartbreaking, but full of a child’s hope until the author claims her own identity, neither dependent on or defined by the broken and dangerous adults who once surrounded her. 

Bridey’s triumphant story is a strong illustration that sometimes, the best revenge is to flourish. 

-Bobi Conn, Author In the Shadow of the Valley and Some Place Like Home

 A childhood is a fragile thing, full of wonder, magic, with endless potential to take flight. It is also vulnerable, easily lost in the hands of poor caretakers. 

With warm, tender guidance, Bridey Thelen-Heidel invites us into her story, painting the portrait of extraordinary resilience in the face of searing trauma. The meticulous recounting of events that formed her adolescence is impressive, delivering an easily followed timeline and an unflinching immediacy - every fresh layer of pain, betrayal, and hopelessness builds a mounting sense of alarm. Writhing beneath the weight of innocence lost, the reader begins aching for an escape, right along with the author. 

When Bridey finally finds her voice and stands on solid ground, the emotional catharsis is palpable. That’s when I realized, this is not the story of a childhood destroyed, but the tale of a warrior’s rise. 

Bridey’s book is one to experience, testing the reader’s endurance through harrowing details just as Bridey survives one ordeal after another. Like the indomitable bond she forges and fiercely protects with her sisters, there is an unspoken promise from Bridey to her audience as soon as the first page is turned: 

'what comes next will be hard, but we’ll get through it together.' 

Sure enough, we do and we are richer for it." 

-Andrew Golub, Author, Beautiful Colors: The Posters of Duran Duran and esteemed Duran Duran Archivist

 Bridey Thelen-Heidel’s thousands of fans begged Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon to meet her even before she became a debut author. 

In her unputdownable memoir BRIGHT EYES, Thelen-Heidel mends the shards of a shattered childhood, forging a glittering gift for readers and survivors. 

Fans of MAID and Tiny Beautiful Things will devour Thelen-Heidel’s pages full of her gripping storytelling, enduring strength, and “Duranie” heart.

- Ann Imig, Founder & Editor LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER  

"Bridey Thelen-Heidel has done exactly what a memoirist needs to do: 

take her life and turn it into a work of art. Bright Eyes is both a propulsive and engrossing read as well as a tender portrait of the challenges of growing up poor and in an abusive family. 

You’ll root for young Bridey and, if you’re like me, see a part of yourself in her regardless of where or 

how you were raised. 

Bravo! 

    I hope Heidel has more books in her."                                        

-William Kenower, Author, Everyone Has What It Takes: An Author's Guide to the End of Self-Doubt

“Bright Eyes is Bridey Thelen-Heidel’s compelling account of surviving a chaotic childhood with a cruel, narcissistic mother who has a penchant for beer and violent boyfriends. 

Although the understory of Bright Eyes is one of trauma, the greater narrative is about mustering the courage to break family ties to salvage a sense of self and daring to dream big, seemingly unreachable dreams—that eventually come true. Honest to the bone, this memoir will keep you turning the pages until its final, hard-won, uplifting moments.”    

-Suzanne Roberts. Author, Animal Bodies: On Death, Desire, and Other Difficulties

"I just finished reading 'Bright Eyes' by Bridey Thelen-Heidel, and I'm still reeling from the experience. This incredibly written, immersive memoir is a heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting journey through the author's chaotic childhood, marked by neglect and abuse. Bridey's vivid and evocative writing style makes you feel like you're right there with her on the 'constant crazy train' - never knowing what's coming next. 

The mother-daughter relationship is arguably the most deeply impactful and complex bond there is, and Bridey's story shines a light on the darkest corners of this dynamic. With unflinching honesty, she shares the raw, vivid details of her childhood, and the long-term effects of trauma on her physical and mental health. What resonated with me most was the author's courageous journey towards healing and forgiveness, not just for herself, but for her own body. 

As a survivor myself, I was deeply impacted by Bridey's determination to break free from the cycles of trauma and addiction. Her words on learning to live without our 'monsters' struck a chord, and I believe this book has the power to inspire countless others to confront their own demons and start their healing journey. 

'Bright Eyes' is a testament to the human spirit's capacity for resilience and redemption. Bridey's story is a beacon of hope, reminding us that no matter what we've endured, we have the strength to overcome and rise above. 

I wholeheartedly endorse this book and applaud Bridey Thelen for her bravery in sharing her story with the world."

-Stephanie Thornton Plymale, Author, American Daughter, CEO American Heritage School of Interior Design

 Bright Eyes doesn’t sugarcoat the chaos Bridey Thelen-Heidel lived through growing up, courtesy of an abusive mother predisposed toward addiction and bringing home violent boyfriends. By the time Thelen-Heidel reached high school, she had attended nearly two dozen schools and was the main caretaker for her little sister. 

But Bright Eyes is also an incredibly moving memoir about staying resilient and forging your own path in life, even if this journey requires difficult choices or possesses seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Thelen-Heidel’s vivid, vulnerable prose contains plenty of hard-fought wisdom—among other things, never underestimate the solace provided by Duran Duran’s music—and pragmatic inspiration driven by her traumatic experiences. 

In the end, Bright Eyes asserts that betting on yourself is a powerful move, one that can even lead to forgiveness, healing and new beginnings.

-Annie Zaleski, music journalist and author of the 33 1/3 volume on Duran Duran’s Rio