I  just finished up listening to the audio book Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa Wingate.  I have read other books by the author and this one came up in my recommended lists so I gave it a try.
The book deals with orphans…or shall I say, would be orphans. Â It’s really well written book that I’m so glad I took the time to listen too. Â I was not aware of the awful things that Georgia Tann did to children. Â It was terrible.
Here’s what Amazon had to say:
“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.”
Amazon readers gave the book 4.8 stars. Â I totally agree. Â Read this one for sure. Â It’s so good.
Just finished this one on Thursday. Loved it too! I liked that it was based on a true situation, although it was hard to read about things like that happening.
OMG! I read that book too- those poor children and their families! So sad and terrible!
I read this book and was shocked that things like that happened in our country. It was so sad but a great read.