Book Recommendation: Before We Were Yours

This is another book that was recommended to me by my wife. When I read what it was about, I wasn’t sure I could get through it. There is something about the poor treatment of children that I have a hard time with. I wasn’t sure I could handle this emotionally. I added it to my “To Read” list.

It seemed like I kept seeing this book pop up on the “Must Read” Historical Fiction lists, on Facebook, and even in blogs that I follow on Word Press. I decided to read it and I was not disappointed. It was a powerful read that made me aware of some real terrible things that happened in real life.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

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.

With each chapter, I got more and more engrossed in the story. As I made my way through the book the past and the present begin to slowly come together and many of the questions are answered. It was an emotional read, but I am glad that I picked this one up.