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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Well crafted, covering a part of U.S. history I did not know about. Excellent.
“Before We Were Yours”, like “The Home For Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman” was a vicious, barbaric, tragic, emotional and depressing story that will move you and leave a lasting impression.
I was heartbroken by the level of wide-spread corruption that allowed these legal “child traffickers” absolute power over persons of lesser socio-economic background (poor people). It was an injustice.
The story sheds light on a woman who, through a state children’s home, ran a black market child trafficking ring for years in Tennessee, USA. She catered to the rich and famous by providing handpicked children to those that could afford to pay and even after handing over the children, continued scamming these people for more money. She made millions off of the sale of hundreds of children.
Highlights were given how the children experienced high levels of abuse at the hands of the people running the “orphanage” after being, at times, forcibly taken from their homes/parents and stripped of their former identities to make it difficult for the rightful parents to find them.
It spans generations and alternate between present-day and the past.
One aspect of the story showcases the experiences of a of victim of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.
The second aspect of the story is told from Avery, a granddaughter of one of the surviving victim of the children’s home who is of an affluent, influential family.
Avery accompanies her dad, a political bigwig, to various functions and met a lady who kept her thinking and later yearning for information. She later had dialogue with her grandmother, now suffering from dementia and is living in a nursing home to see the connection she felt between the mysterious woman and her grandmother. Her zeal for knowledge about her grandmother’s past gradually merged both stories which she eventually realized that both women are actually long lost sisters (who’ve found each other years ago and decided to keep the present and past lives separated), who are once again back together one more time.
Loved this book!!
Enjoyed and very well written, hard to put down.
A favorite of mine – great book. Very realistic.
Historical fiction. Book reveals what nobody knew as it was going on. Very interesting.
a story based on true events of children often stolen from the street or tricked from new mothers. I’m still haunted by the story and the disappearance of the storyteller’s sister. very well told
Intriguing syory. Well woven
I have always been haunted by the real life tales of Georgia Tann, and wondered how the children involved, were effected. This is a wonderful novelization.
5 stars
A page turner…. yes, that is an over-used phrase but this book is that and more. Takes you back and forth between the present and the past in the south. The lives of children having to grow up too young. Historic and dramatic.
While this was a quick read and a wonderful read, it was often at times not an easy read. Lisa Wingate includes a wonderful author’s note at the end of the novel that describes what was true, and it was startling to learn how much actually happened. As a mother, I can imagine the utter terror of having my children taken from me, never knowing what happened to them. But the interesting idea that the novel addresses is: what about the other side? Which has more potential – the life we should have had or the one we end up living? What about the future that would have never been if we’d gone down a different path? This book asks the reader to think about the bigger picture and consider that sometimes it isn’t so black and white. While at times deeply sad, overall the story is one of family, love, and ultimately hope.
This review was first posted on kelseygietl.com.
Deeply moving account of an awful crime and the ripples into the current day
I loved this book so much. I read it it as quickly as I could because I could not stop thinking about it when I put it down for the briefest times. I was torn between wanting it to end so that I could find out if there was a happy ending and not wanting it to end because I was so enthralled with the characters. I kept thinking about it for weeks after I finished it and went online and did some research regarding the history of the true life case surrounding the story. It’s a great read, a beautiful story and well worth your time. I highly recommend it.
The best book I read this year.
I love this book. She is awesome writer. A awesome person. I love all her books. This book is a unbelievable and a tearjerker, so make sure you have your box of tissues handy.
If I could give this book 10 stars I would, loved it!
I knew this book would be a difficult one due to the topic….very personal since my mother grew up in that era and could have easily happened to her. But this is an amazing piece of historical fiction…and I have purchased the book that follows that describes how these “children” discovered one another again decades later in Before and After
The book brings a terrible historical event to life and the reader can feel it’s effects on an almost personal level. I have never rooted so hard for a group of characters and I was moved to tears at more than one point during the story. A must read.
Wonderful book.