Before We Were Yours: The heartbreaking novel that has sold over one million copies

"Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate is based of a shocking piece of history of the American south. My guess is that it was not an isolated event and has gone on world wide. It is the story of adoption and a particular "factory" that was located in Tennesee along the Mississippi River by a woman named Georgia Tann and operated from the 1920's-1950. It is estimated that 5,000 babies and children passed through her hands. To the world she presented as an altruistic person but in reality she was saw each child as $$$ and had people who snatched children off the streets and river sides and took them to her "children's home". These children were held in cruel and squalid conditions and advertised as orphans. Childless couples came from all over the US to find the perfect child for them to adopt.
This book is the story told through the eyes of one of these children interwoven with a modern day story of a political family in South Carolina. It is a powerful and extremely well written book that recounts a shameful part of our history.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
The Macclesfield Reading group received 10 free copies of this book and we discussed it at our February meeting. This book is a family saga centering around one family and their secrets. The book got very mixed reviews at our meeting - here are our thoughts:

‘I particularly enjoyed the chapters in Memphis on the Riverboat and the characters of the family. It’s also quite heart-wrenching in parts. I wasn’t very keen on the character of Avery’
‘I didn’t really enjoy this book, though I did prefer the chapters about the river children to the present day chapters. Discovering that the story was based on true facts was quite a shock’
‘I did not enjoy this book as it is not my cup of tea. I did find the factual element interesting and would of preferred more information on the subject’
‘an easy to read real life story that showcases the worst side of the orphanages in the 1950’s.’
‘I enjoyed this book – it was a good family story’
‘An easy read based on a sad true story. I liked the historical story more than the modern day as that one was a bit clichéd. Not my favourite!’

a really enjoyable read, interesting and well written

Before We Were Yours
Lisa Wingate

There were ten people present to discuss this book and as usual there was a mixed response.

We all read the book and thought it a quick read but only about 3-4 people enjoyed it with most of us thinking that it could have been done much better.

The book provoked good discussions about adoption, how sections of our society, even today, are devalued and ignored eg grooming, and how influential people can escape the law eg high profile politicians, entertainers and religious leaders etc.

Pros

· A good book to read
· Good story badly done
· Well worth reading as it gave us lots of information although not enjoyable
· Enjoyable!!

Cons

· Disappointing with the wrong balance between the present day story and history
· Too long
· Too much detail by Rill
· Could not see why Care Homes were used as a scenario
· The writing style of alternating “now” and “then” chapters was generally not liked.
· Would have liked more detail about how the adoption scandal was exposed (although the author did give book references about that)
· The ending felt unsatisfactory and not credible

At the end of the meeting each person was asked how many stars out of 5 they would give it and the average came to 3* There were no 5* given by anyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Based on the historical Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis, the scandal of snached children being sold as ‘orphans’ to great and good, but childless, couples across America is truely disurbing. That this happened within my lifetime and carried on for so many years is almost unbelievable. Even state laws excluded the evil Georgia Tann who this whole enterprise. Lisa Wingate writes convincingly and holds the reader’s interest as she moves from the present to uncover past events.

In this case I feel that the story of these ‘pre-owned’ children is well served by the fictional tale that the author has woven around historical fact. A highly recommended book.

In Memphis, 1939, the dreadful Miss Tann illegally acquires a family of five children who had been living a blissful life with their parents on a river boat. Rill, the oldest, is twelve and she feels responsible for looking after her younger brothers and sisters. They are thrown into an orphanage where it becomes clear that they are not the only ones to have been abducted in highly dubious circumstances and, although it is not initially clear why they are there, they are all aware that it is not good news. 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. A chance encounter by Avery raises questions about her family’s past and she is determined to discover the truth. This is quite a complex task, not just because of the difficulties in finding the information which she needs, but also because she has to be very discreet, aware as she is that, in the political world, any hint of a scandal could ruin her family. These two threads of the story start to converge as the history of Rill’s family is revealed and Avery turns detective.

This is an astonishing book. The characters are all developed extremely well by the author and have their own individual personalities and character traits. I came to know them well during the course of this quite long book and felt for them as they struggled with the trials and tribulations that life threw at them. As the story progressed it became increasingly chilling and I was almost picking it up with dread at the prospect of discovering what on earth was going to happen next. I also found myself waking up in the middle of the night after haunting dreams/nightmares in which the kidnapped children appeared. I’m not normally affected like this by books so it is testament to the author’s ability that she has provoked this strong reaction. It is difficult to say whether I actually enjoyed the book or not as I found it so harrowing and disturbing, but I can honestly say that it was one of the most amazing books that I have ever read. Even worse, when I finished the book some gut feeling prompted me to look up the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and I found that both it, and the dreadful Miss Tann, actually existed. The whole book is based on a notorious real-life scandal in which children were, in effect, kidnapped and sold for adoption on the black market, with the authorities either sanctioning or turning a blind eye to these activities. The book draws on the stories which came to light when the scandal was uncovered and weaves them into an emotional and heart-wrenching work of fiction, one which I don’t think I will ever forget.

Although this is the first novel that I have read by Lisa Wingate, apparently she has written others. If they come anywhere close to the standard of this one I have a treat in store. Thoroughly recommended for all readers, but don’t expect an easy ride.

This is an emotional, gut wrenching story of siblings snatched from their riverboat-living parents and then adopted out to rich families. It is based on a true-life scandal. The story is heartbreaking with the children forced to endure much cruelty, abuse, unable to control anything in their lives. In parts, this is hard to read. The children have no hope of ever seeing their parents again, let alone surviving.

There are two stories being told, interweaving the past and the present eventually revealing the truth. The story from the past is very nicely written, has good pace and jumps off the page. I found the present story less engaging.

Rill Foss, one of the main characters of the book, was very believable. We see everything through her eyes, at her level. We see how life was on the riverboat, and how dramatically life changed overnight at the Tennessee Children's Home Orphanage. It is hard to fathom the unspeakable cruelty the children suffered at the hands of those in charge.

Avery, the other main character in the book, was less believable. She is an aspiring politician, a high-powered lawyer, comes from a family of money and position, and she is to marry her childhood sweetheart. From her perspective, I found it less believable that she would pursue these loose, vague clues and then fall in love with a real estate agent from a small town whose wife had died leaving him to bring up his adorable son. I found Avery to be rigid in her beliefs and sometimes her voice was wooden and predictable.

The story lines are complex, and this does make for a page turning read. I felt that perhaps the story could have been more concise in parts. And some fragments didn't ring true - the taxi continuing to wait for its fare, week after week, and then Avery happens to be at her grandmother's house when the taxi is there, and by merely grilling the taxi driver, more is revealed. Would a taxi wait week after week? And would he be bothered to reveal anything? Not sure on that one, however, it does propels the story forward.

Overall this is an enjoyable read and kept me interested to the very end.