Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
This book is a fictionalized account of a family of siblings
who were torn apart by a real adoption scandal in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Ril and her siblings were taken from their
houseboat home when their mother went to the hospital to deliver twins. In the hospital, her mother was told that her
babies were stillborn. Her husband
unwittingly signed away all the children, thinking he was signing a paper to
waive the costs for his wife’s hospital bill.
The woman behind this
terrible account was Georgia Tann, who was the head of the Tennessee Children’s
Home. Tann had helpers watching for
vulnerable children who she had kidnapped and then delivered to shady boarding
homes where they were kept until they were adopted out to couples who could afford
the exorbitant adoption fees.
Ril’s name is changed to May and she has the good fortune to
be adopted by a well to do couple who have also adopted her younger
sister. Flash forward to the present
when May is placed in a retirement home and meets rising lawyer Avery Stafford
when she makes a political trip with her politician father. Through a set of
circumstances, Avery and May become acquainted and pieces of their lost pasts begin
to come together.
Lisa Wingate paints a painful picture of the reality of many
of Georgia Tann’s adoptees. She layers a
story from the present day against the past.
Readers are kept in the dark as to the present-day identities of the
siblings as the story unfolds. This
well-paced story keeps readers wanting more.
Wingate’s story-telling skills are excellent. Her characters are fascinating and
well-drawn. This is an excellent
read. I received a free copy from the
publisher for my honest review.
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