Before We Were Yours

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This story was inspired by actual true life events about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society that was based in Memphis and the director Georgia Tann. The fact that illegal adoptions went on over such a long period of time ( until 1950) and were obviously known about in high places is scandalous and makes one wonder at the values embedded in a system which saw little value in families who were poor. Not only is the book well written but it informs us of the atrocities that went on for many years under the Tennessee orphan home system. the story of the ross siblings may be a work of fiction, but there are a countless number of children whose experiences were not.

If you're ready for a story you can really sink your teeth into with characters that virtually come to life, here you go. The background: This book is based on the real life events that happened at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, an adoption agency is Memphis, TN, operated by Georgia Tann. I was swept in from page one in this well written historical fiction story and Lisa Wingate's novel is a terrific example of why I enjoy historical fiction stories.

Georgia Tann illegally adopted ,no sold,these children to the highest bidder, as if they were cattle. I was completely lost in the plight of the Foss children, while I was heartbroken by the absolute injustice of it all. The children were literally kidnapped in broad daylight and no matter how birth parents tried to fight in court, they were not allowed to win. And romance is fine, but must it be such a large component of what should be such a serious historical novel.

Some questions come up about her grandmother's past that Avery digs into that leads her down a path she never imagined. I’ll start by explaining that ever since I laid eyes on this cover a few months ago, I haven’t stopped thinking of this book.

There are two stories being told, interweaving the past and the present eventually revealing the truth.

But I can't help but wonder, since this was the big NG Historical Fiction book of the year 2017, did I go in with the highest expectations that could not be met? Avery Stafford first meets May when she is visiting a nursing home to support her father's political campaign. In Before and After, Wingate and Christie tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins.It is really heart wrenching what happened to this family, but it was a beautifully told, and moving story. This part of the story is narrated by Rill and the second part, set in South Carolina in the current day is told by Avery, a very successful career woman who is being groomed to take over from her father, a Senator whose health is failing. It is heart-breaking to read about the torture and suffering that these innocent children endured; they were nothing more than a profit-maker for Tann.