NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives.“An absorbing historical . . . enthralling.”—Library JournalBestselling author Lisa Wingate … Journal
Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.
Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.
Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.
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In researching the enslaved people, I came across the book. I was already familiar with the Methodist church posting letters to be read by the clergy. This book is fascinating to read. Would make a great book club discussion.
The Book of Lost Friends is one of those stories that sticks with you. Days after finishing, I kept thinking of this novel and the past that inspired it. The story is based on history with actual letters from the Lost Friends newspaper advertisements interspersed between chapters.
Ms. Wingate has used a dual timeline and dual POV narration to tell the story of Hanie Gossett in post- civil-war Louisiana and Texas and of Benny a young, inexperienced teacher in an impoverished area of current-day Louisiana. Benny finds the curriculum is unrelatable to the poor students who feel they have few choices for their future. When her cross-curriculum project takes flight, stories of the Lost Friends (Hannie Gossett and family) and how they are connected to the town’s history are illuminated even though some town founders would prefer to keep that skeleton in the closet.
The Book of Lost Friends starts with seemingly unrelated stories that eventually are woven together. Ms. Wingate’s characters are excellently developed. This is one of the most intelligent historical fictions I’ve read. Some plot points feel a little farfetched, but not many. The pace is leisurely at the start, however, the story is engrossing and the ending is very satisfying.
I couldn’t put it down. I’ve learned so much following Hannie’s and Bennie’s s endeavors. And appreciated the author not sugar coating human acts, then and now. Thank you Lisa Wingate for keeping history alive.
Lisa Wingate has definitely done it again by bringing alive an unknown slice of American history! This is an extraordinary story about the first-hand experience of slavery in our country, during and after the civil war. It worked very well as an audiobook and I felt like I was walking alongside Hannie as she recounted her heart-wrenching story and experiences. A must-read, or “listen”!
Wonderful story told in two different time periods. Really interesting characters.
Wonderfully written with inspiring characters and very interesting historical insights. Loved it!
A wonderful follow up after reading Before We Were Yours!
I thought the book switched around far too much!
This is one of my favorite books this year. Wonderfully researched historical fiction woven with a story from today. It gives the reader a real feel for the lives of slaves in the south, and what it is like there now. Beautiful story.
This incredible Historical fiction novel tells the story slaves separated from their families and their search and struggle to reconnect through newspaper ads circulated throughout the south. Told in both the late 1980s and the 1800s the story weaves back and forth seamlessly.
Lisa Wingate writes a truly emotion and heartfelt book. I couldn’t wait to get back to it each night.
Very interesting read. Learned about how previously enslaved peoples attempted to find their families. Great characters. I listened to this and the readers were very voice with dialect and accents
BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS by Lisa Wingate
“The past travels with you. It’s whether you run from it or learn from it that makes all the difference”
There are so many lessons to learn in the twined stories of Hannie in 1875, enslaved and separated from all her family, and Bennie in 1987, a new, hopeful teacher in Augustine, LA.
Gripping conflict, inspiring characters, and beautiful writing. “A mockingbird sings his borrowed songs all hooked together like different-colored ribbons tied end after end.”
This is the best book I’ve read in ages! Chapters alternate a hundred years apart with “lost friends” ads both separating and connecting the characters. I couldn’t put the book down as the two plot lines converged!
“The Book of Lost Friends” is like finding a rare gem and in this story, boy did I ever. Lisa Wingate’s writing of this historical novel from 1875 and linking to present day 1987 is in itself a feat to write, and once I started I could not let go of this book. I was completely immersed in the story of the three friends Hannie, Lavinia and Juneau Jane as they travel to Texas in post civil war South, and then the story of Benny a teacher in a very poor rural town in Louisiana as a first year struggling teacher. These characters were based on a real event in our history and made the story that much more interesting to me. I found the story to be compelling and completely immersive. I highly recommend this book for an unforgettable story.
This is a timely book right now. I think every high schooler in America should read this and learn about slavery and the scars it left forever on our country. Told in deep point-of-view by two strong women from two different centuries whose lives become intertwined, this story brings to life some of the same issues we are still facing today. If you want to grasp racism in its truest form, read this book. It will break you heart and give you hope all in the same breath.
A dual timeline novel where I ate up both stories with equal relish. In 1875, Hattie is seeking lost members of her family, scattered years before through the evils of slavery. And in the 1980’s new English teacher struggles to make a difference in an underfunded Louisiana school. I loved the way the stories intersected and Wingate’s use of the historical ‘Lost Friends’ advertisements to create and inform her storytelling.
I listened to the audio version of this book. I believe this is one of those books that is better as an audio book than the actual printed book probably was. The different narrators wove the story together in such a beautiful way to portray the desired depth of meaning.
Ms. Wingate tells the story in a dual timeline of families of slaves torn apart in Post-Civil War era and also through a first year teacher and her students in the late 1980’s as they work on projects to research their families…their people, which results in strife in the small Louisiana town. The teacher is up against horrific odds, but is determined to get through to her students and to stand by them–even though it could cost her her job.
The Book of Lost Friends is a collection of letters written by freed slaves searching for their family members that they lost to the horrific situations slavers subjected them to. Some were freed, some indentured, some sold and some were runaways. Their families ceased to exist in the blink of an eye, possibly lost to them forever. These letters were written, many sent in to hopefully be published and distributed among several states and then read from the pulpit in the hope that someone would know something of any of their family members.
The dual timeline kept me guessing for awhile as to how the two were related. Ms. Wingate revealed a little at a time and I was certainly intrigued. Another incredible book for Lisa Wingate!
Fantastic story!
After reading Before We Were Yours, I had high hopes for Lisa Wingate’s next dual-timeline novel and I was not disappointed. I think I liked it even more. The characters of both timelines grabbed my heart and didn’t let go. The historical side was amazing and the dual timelines touched together in ways that were surprising and unexpected. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time!