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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A very touching read
This book is based on true circumstances. They are made up, so the exact story is not real but it’s based off events that truest happened. It’s heartb to know this happened and that so many lives were devistated because of this lady and the children’s home she ran. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Read it, never let this happen again.
Unbelievable story of a sad time when children were coaxed away from parents and places in orphanages. On special days the children were dressed up and parades in front of potential adoptive parents, people of wealth and money. Other days the children existed in unfortunate conditions with very little to brighten their days. Siblings were often separated never to see each other again.
Based on true facts, this remarkable story invites involvement and provokes thought. How could this situation have arisen? How can it be avoided in the future?
Lisa Wingate’s story of Rill and her family is a poignant and emotional journey through South Carolina and an ugly history few know about. Flashing back and forth from 1939 to the present day, this book deftly weaves a tale that is hard to put down, with characters who will capture your heart. A beautiful story of a family’s love, loss, the pain of hidden secrets and the balm of starting over.
I read a lot. I’ve read at least 200 books since I read this one, yet it sticks with me. There is definitely heart break, yet there is also happiness and even a happy ending. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I highly recommend it.
I love Lisa Wingate’s writing in general, but have to say that this is her best so far! What a wonderful story of how the human spirit can be so strong and so resilient!
Might be the best book I have read in awhile.
Entertaining
This story was one that I could not put down. The whole story had me mesmerized, from the historical facts comes a story of survival and endurance. LOVED IT
Good book.
I loved this book. So sad but a happy ending.
We read this in my book club. It is one of my all-time favorites!
Rill lives on a riverboat with her parents, her 3 sisters and her brother, and her mother is expecting another baby. After she’s rushed to the hospital, the authorities come in and take all the children to the Tennesee Children’s Home Society under the guise they will be there until their parents are out of the hospital. Only, their mother has been tricked into signing away the children and they are awaiting adoption. Told in alternating viewpoints from Rill in the past, and then Avery in the present, we slowly learn what Avery has to do with this atrocity that was committed in the past.
First, let’s talk about Avery’s viewpoint. Her grandmother is in a care facility as her memory continues to get worse. Her facility is a much nicer facility than most and Wingate talks about the disparages between the homes for the wealthy and those that are not. Avery meets May in one such facility where the care is less than stellar. Her friendship with May opens doors into learning about the past Avery previously wasn’t privy to, because the general consensus was “Bygones are a bit like collard greens. They tend to taste bitter.” Avery’s relationship with her fiance is at the backburner of the story and her fiance isn’t all that supportive of Avery’s quest to discover her family’s history.
Rill’s story, told in the late ’30s, was sadly very typical of the environment at the time. The woman at the center of all of this, Georgia Tann, is best labeled a monster. She tricked women into signing over their children, she stole newborns, she profited off human suffering. The Children’s Home barely clothed and fed the children, their health wasn’t a priority, and conditions weren’t safe for the girls. This process tore apart families, it dragged in unwitting accomplices desperate for children. My heart endlessly broke for Rill and her siblings.
Before We Were Yours is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. It’s emotional and heartbreaking. I felt Rill/May was a bit naive in her thinking, as things continued to get worse, it just wasn’t clicking in her head what was going on. Her trust in adults was so sadly misplaced and my heart broke for her. Overall, a very well-written piece of history that’s a must read.
I was shocked and horrified at the way orphans were treated and abused. Should remind us to be watchdogs and care how persons in institutions are treated—orphans, mentally ill, prisons, and hospitals.
One of the best books I have ever read. Based on a true story, the book grabs you and won’t let go.
Read. This. Book. Before We Were Yours is a beautiful and spell-binding page turner. I found myself invested in the characters, and wondering could this all really have happened? The book is a novel, but based on an ugly chapter of history – a terrible institution in Tennessee in the 1930s-1950s that adopted out, or “sold” children. There are two story lines that regularly intersect – a modern-day plot, and a view from a family of children in the 1930s. What can I say – Before We Were Yours is an example of how a novel should be written, of gorgeous and eloquent descriptions that float off the page, and good writing that touches the heart. This book will stay with me for a long time.
This heart-breaking story, based on true events, will drop you down and pull you up as you follow the lives of stolen children and their efforts to survive the unthinkable. Lisa Wingate offers an unforgettable read that will haunt you long after you reach the last page.
Intense read but very glad I read it.
Good read, but a horrific story.