Before We Were Yours

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old 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.

Genre

Historical Fiction

Literary Awards

Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction (2017)

342 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2017

My Thoughts

This novel is based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization known as the Tennessee Children's Home Society, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s wrenching but ultimately uplifting novel reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

This book is beautiful. I liked it from the beginning, but I had to put it down because it became heavy at times. About 3/4 of the way through the book I was so completely engrossed that I just had to read to the end. I found it to be riveting. It is such an amazing book filled with a detailed, complicated, messy, beautiful, and heartbreaking story. I heartily recomment this book and give it 5 stars.