THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT—Over two million copies sold! A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller“Poignant, engrossing.”—People • “Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation’s history and weaves a tale of enduring power.”—Paula McLain Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their … Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.
Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
Publishers Weekly’s #3 Longest-Running Bestseller of 2017 • Winner of the Southern Book Prize • If All Arkansas Read the Same Book Selection
“Sure to be one of the most compelling books you pick up this year. . . . Wingate is a master-storyteller, and you’ll find yourself pulled along as she reveals the wake of terror and heartache that is Georgia Tann’s legacy.”—Parade
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I found this book both compelling and very sad. I can’t imagine people being so evil. What was worse, is the fact that the authorities were not more vigilant.
I couldn’t stop reading ! Based on a true story the, It moves from 1939 to present and the author does that beautifully! Must read !
Well written. It was interesting as the narrator jumped back and forth. Kept you wanting to read more.
It is a wonderful read!! I Wil definitely reread again.
Oh, the world of the infamous Georgia Tann. The first page snagged my interest . I could hardly put it down.
Extremely well written. Captivating story.
Great character development and wonderful story
Lisa Wingate skillfully tells the story of 5 children who were stolen by the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The children are not real, but the kinds of things they had to deal with were and the head of the TCHS was a real person who operated between 1930 and 1950. The book has two sub-plots alternating throughout which makes this book hard to put down as you move from the past to the present and back again. Definitely recommend this book.
I loved it! It was easy to read but had depth too. I thought that using the dual storytellers was well done and did not feel contrived. Though fiction it was about a true historical event we should know about–the Tennessee orphanage scandal that continued for years!
I found this book to be gripping, well-written, and compelling with a fascinating, but disturbing true back story. Lisa Wingate is a very good story teller and knows how to build a climax and keep the reader engaged. I really enjoyed this book.
My first audiobook, this was well narrated by Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber. My reading speed is faster than that of the narrators and I thought that would irritate me, but their expertise made the experience come alive.
I was absorbed from the first chapter. Five children are kidnapped from their home while their father accompanies their mother to a hospital. They’re taken to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis, notorious for the greedy owner and staff’s shameful theft and kidnapping of vulnerable children for adoption at a price, and for the blackmailing of their cash-strapped parents.
(There’s a factual basis to the premise of the story. A scandal overshadowed Georgia Tann, the owner of Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis, who worked her evil ways in the 1930s and was responsible for the murder, abuse and disappearance of at least 50 children, who were difficult to trace later, as she and her staff changed their names and forged their adoption papers.)
Timelines shift between the 1930s and the present. Avery Stafford, born into a wealthy, influential family, is a lawyer being groomed to follow in her father’s political footsteps in South Carolina and succeed him as a senator, in the present. Her grandmother, Judy, suffers from Alzheimer’s, but Avery discovers she holds some dark secrets when she clears out the old lady’s diary. Avery suspects Judy’s link to May Crandall, another old lady she met while campaigning at a nursing home. May has a remarkable physical resemblance to Judy.
May represents the second timeline – 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee. Although feisty and unapproachable at first, her memory turns out to be more reliable than Judy’s and she is able to fill Avery in on the gaps when she tries to piece together Judy’s story. The results are surprising and the story heartwarming.
The dual timelines are related in alternate chapters. They interweave smoothly and converge in a resolution at the end, neither dominating the other, the characters of the two women, and that of Avery, unfolding gently in their search for each other and the truths of the past.
This was one of my favourite novels of the year with a story that resounds and lingers with me. I rate it 4.5 stars.
This is a marvelous tale, based on the true situation of some orphans in mid-1900s in the USA. As the eldest daughter in a large family, I can relate to the huge family responsibilities given to the main character. True, true, true!!!
½
Before We Were Yours is a story of grave fraud, deception, and abuse within the business of adoption. The inspiration for this fictional story is unfortunately based on actual historical events and the characters based on real-life survivors and staff of a children’s home that was once in existence. Lisa Wingate brings attention to this time in history through parallel storylines of the past and present as a woman puts together pieces of family history. Overall, I liked this book. I have read many books with a similar writing style, and in comparison I didn’t find myself quite as engaged as I have felt with others. However, there is always benefit in learning about dark times in history so that we don’t allow them to repeat under our watch and knowledge. There is an author’s note at the end that is a must read (listen for audio). Ms. Wingate discusses the truth behind her fiction and the protective measures that were put into place for our most delicate resources. I am genuinely happy to see so many readers enjoying this book. Check it out!
Note: If you enjoyed learning about nonfiction events through storytelling, I highly recommend Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain. This recommendation is not intended to take any focus away from Before We Were Yours but rather to add another title to a genre you enjoy.
My favorite quote:
“Life is not unlike cinema. Each scene has its own music, and the music is created for the scene, woven to it in ways we do not understand. No matter how much we may love the melody of a bygone day or imagine the song of a future one, we must dance within the music of today, or we will always be out of step, stumbling around in something that doesn’t suit the moment.”
Amazing fiction written based on actual events. This book evoked a wide range of emotions. Well done.
Amazing story about a little known historical period in the adoption of children in Tennessee. This practice of stealing children from their poor and indigent parents and selling them was not stopped until the mid sixties. Horrific tale of this practice and how it affected the victims. Unbelievable story. My one complaint is the amount of names I had to keep track of. The children’s names were all changed when they were stolen and it seemed hard to keep track as there were a number of them in one family. Also disappointed the end of the story did not reveal what happened to the brother and one sister, but my angst is nothing compared to the peopel this actually happened to. A good read.
One of my favorite reads. Heartbreaking and very sobering, it brought to light a part of our country’s history that I was unaware of.
Explore a tragic part of America’s history that has been kept secret for generations. Dive into this fictional account of the many children who really were kidnapped and “sold” for “adoption” by a sociopathic female director of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Redemptive, inspirational, and eye-opening, Lisa Wingate has penned her first New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller– one I expect to perch at the top for a long while. Bravo!
The historical events in Before We Were Yours sweep over the reader with sadness, but the joy Lisa Wingate writes in the hearts of her characters overcomes the facts. If you have a sister, or if you have overcome adversity you will love this book. History often repeats itself if we don’t know the truth. In the gripping story, Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate reminds us that life must remain our highest commodity. I read this book as an advance copy.
Heartbreakingly heartwarming. Based on the true story of the Georgia Tann scandal in Tennessee, parts are hard to read. Lisa Wingate is an amazing storyteller that makes you want to know more, while she entertains you with a story of what might have been.
This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I actually read this book several months ago, and it has stuck with me. As a frequent reader, and a historical fiction lover, I am often asked what I am currently reading, and what I recommend. Since reading “Before We Were Yours”, it is my first recommendation.