Before We Were Yours is an interesting story about Tennessee Children's Home Society "adoption" practices in the 1920s through 1950s. It shifts between the 1900s and present day every other chapter. I found this to be distracting because the early story was so compelling and poignant while the present day story seemed rather mundane. I was far more interested in the children and their story than the senator's family and their political/social/media problems. All in all it is a good story, very good writing and I'm sure many people will enjoy it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Wow, this book was excellent! If you are a fan of Orphan Train, you must read this book. It tells the story of a family of children plunged into a not so ideal foster system in the early 1900's. The story-line was seamless and beautifully built, weaving together multiple generations effortlessly. A bit of history, a bit of mystery, sadness, pain, love and family were all intertwined. This is officially in my top ten favorites. Do yourself a favor and read it already!

I couldn't put this book down! This tells the story of how Georgia Tann, and the Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis, took children away from their biological parents to be adopted for her personal gain. They were abused until their adoptions, and older children were afraid to speak. The narrator is a young woman who tries to find her grandmother's connection, made more challenging by her grandmother's advanced dementia. A fascinating book about a horrendous time and place.

I love this author's books and I was not disappointed in this book. A very well written book based on a true story of The Tennessee Children's Home Society ran by Georgia Tann. This book is heart wrenching .

Before We Were Yours is the story of five children who are taken from their home and placed at the Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage. In addition we are also following the story of Avery Stafford, a prominent member of South Carolina society, as she uncovers the truth about her grandmother and their family's past. Prior to reading this book I knew nothing about Georgia Tann and the society she created to kidnap children and sell them to wealthy parents. I was so grieved at what I read and what happened to these families.
From the first pages I was completely captured by this story and it's characters. Lisa Wingate made her characters come alive and I could feel the heartbreak and the fear the children felt as they were taken from their home and placed in the children's home. In addition, I was drawn into to Avery's story as she began to uncover the secrets of her families past and tried to reconcile who she is and who she wants to be. I will place a trigger warning that there is child abuse both physical and implied sexual in the story regarding the siblings.
While the story had many strong points I was disappointed at the ending. Lisa Wingate tied up most of the loose ends; however, it felt rushed and not as thorough as I would have liked considering the detail she put into the fist half of the book. I feel like she could have added 50 pages to the book and created a more well developed ending that left the reading feeling more satisfied.

Found the historical storyline and characters fascinating and heartbreaking. While the modern day character of Avery didn't ring true for me, her romantic soul searching was an unnecessary distraction.

Seeing comparisons to The Orphan Train, a historical fiction book that many of us loved, I knew that Wingate's latest novel would be a good fit. Based on the horrific real-life Tennessee Children's Home Society and the heinous woman who ran it, this is a tale of family secrets, hidden lives, and tragic abuse. Told through dual perspectives, two young women reveal the story. Rill Foss, a young girl who lives in poverty with her family, is taken from her river home in 1939, along with her four other siblings. Highly prized for their blond curls, they are taken in order to be sold to the highest bidders, enduring both physical and emotional abuse at the Home. The story of today is told through Avery Stafford, the daughter of a well-to-do family whose father is a senator and part of a powerful family in South Carolina. As Avery befriends an old woman in a nursing home, she uncovers pieces of the past that may directly impact her own family. Wingate throws in a bit of a love interest for Avery, as well as some introspection of her direction in life. Personally, I could have done without the romance, but the sister-relationship is beautiful and well-developed. My only issue is the one sentence of a highly offensive racist belief that white girls should be scared of black men raping them. I know, it's just one sentence, but really? As the author does nothing in her book to deal with racial issues, which is perfectly understandable in the context of this story, throwing in a one-off that perpetuates a racist stereotype is just unacceptable.

I reserve 5 full stars for books that move me and stay with me long after I have finished them. “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate was one of those books!

The book details the lives of seven siblings. It travels through their births to their elderly years seamlessly telling the story of how they were stolen from their parents and placed in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society where unspeakable acts were perpetrated against children, the birth parents and adoptive parents.

The book begins with Avery Stafford who has moved back home to assist her mother and father, a Senator, with his public life after a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Her grandmother, Judy, has just been moved to the memory care unit of a premium care assisted living facility as she has been diagnosed with dementia. The Senator and his staff are trying to juggle that choice, his illness and a scandal involving corporate-owned facilities. Avery attends a meet-and-greet at a facility with her father and meets May, an older lady who mistakes her for both her sister Fern and then her mother, Queenie. While Avery is distracted, May slips an heirloom bracelet from her wrist. When the worker’s retrieve it, May claims it is hers. When Avery returns to retrieve it, she sees an old photo in May’s room. Her curiosity is piqued when she notices the resemblance of the lady in the photo to her grandmother, Judy. When she visits her grandmother to ask her, she tells her to burn all her appointment books/journals at her home.

The resulting story is Avery’s hunt for the truth. “Secrets have a way of coming out. Secrets also make you vulnerable to your enemies, political or otherwise.” Avery must tread carefully; everything her family does or has done is scrutinized. We are reminded that “secrets ain’t a healthy thang, no matter how old they is. Sometimes the oldest secrets is the worst of all”. Is that ever the truth!

Throughout, she begins to question the path she has chosen for her own life. May tells her “a woman’s past need not predict her future. She can dance to new music if she chooses. Her OWN music. To hear the tune, she must only stop talking. To herself, I mean. We’re always trying to persuade ourselves of things.” Such great advice. We often choose someone else’s path for our life. We are reminded to “dance within the music of today, or we will always be out of step”.

It also delves into dementia, assisted living and caring for our loved ones as they age. “This music of old age… it isn’t made for dancing. It’s so… lonely. You’re a burden to everyone.” Wow… go visit your grandmother!

I am the type of reader that loves stores that are based in truth. This one was. The Tennessee Children’s Home Society and Georgia Tann, did exist and committed terrible atrocities. Do a bit of research; you will be appalled.

This story touched me in so many ways. As a child, my sister and I were often shuffled between family members after the death of our mother at ages 2 and 5. I think that we share an even stronger bond because of that. This book describes that bond so beautifully. “The love of sisters needs no words. It does not depend on memories, or mementos, or proof. It runs as deep as a heartbeat. It is as ever present as a pulse.” Another character said, “The heart still know. It still know who it loves”. Indeed it does!

Read this book. It will make you cry. You will be glad you did.

Release Date: June 6, 2017

Genre: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Cover: Perfect

Source: I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thanks you!

Rating: 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC for review.

Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate, promptly pulls the reader into the story of the Foss family living on their shanty during the Depression. Though poor, these are loving parents of five children, with more on the way. They always find a way to feed their children, and manage to anchor near a town during the school year. In alternating chapters, the reader learns the contemporary story of the wealthy, highly regarded Stafford family whose members have served in state legislature for multiple generations. The Staffords now face possible connection to a politically toxic story about eldercare.

The sinister true story of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society under Georgia Tann intertwines with the Foss family in heartbreaking episodes, as told by eldest daughter Rill. In the Stafford’s portion, as daughter Avery copes as expected heir to the family dynasty, a mystery surfaces that could damage the family’s impeccable reputation.

The book cover is a great enticement! While the story of the Foss family promptly lures the reader, a connection to the Staffords takes some time to develop. I’m not a fan of back and forth chapters/episodes between time periods, but in this case the device was not too intrusive to the stories. Readers will enjoy the tales, especially with an ending that ties it all together happily.

Terrific Book!....will be recommending to my book club. This book is based on a true story of a repulsive organization that existed during the depression era led by Georgia Tann named the "Tennessee Children's Home Society". The main characters are fictional, but as you read accounts online about the children that Ms. Tann (not fictional) stole from the streets, or convinced parents to sign over custody of (when parents needed medical help for their children or just had no clue that they were giving away custody of) and also lied to new mothers that their child had died in childbirth. Ms. Tann then would basically sell the children under the guise of adoption to families who could not have children at an elevated price.

Excellent story going from past to present, following a riverboat family of five children. They were a happy family until the mother had to go to a hospital with problems of childbirth. That is when their troubles started. I was glued to this story until the end and it was so interested to discover that a lot of what was happening had actually taken place during that time period. That hundreds of children had lost their birth parents and could not find them later as records were sealed and names were changed. I was provided an ARC of this book for an honest review by the publisher and author through Netgalley.com. I thank you for this opportunity! I had not previously read books by this author, Lisa Wingate, but will definitely be reading more in the future…..she is fantastic!

I Absolutely loved "Before We Were Yours" from page one to the end. The novel is based on a true event in our history regarding The Tennessee Children's Home Society. Although the facts behind this novel are heart-wrenching and shocking, Wingate does a great job of making this an uplifting and tender story. I highly recommend this book as a must read for everyone in 2017.

I received this book "Before We Were Yours" from Netgalley for my honest review.

Loved this Book!!! I am a follower of Lisa Wingate and I really enjoy her writing. She always has a great story to tell and this one I did not realize was based on true events. The story is heartbreaking and you will just keep reading and reading because you can't put this book down. The story is about the Tennessee Children's Home Society and how they would "steal" children and sell them for a profit! Oh my! I feel so bad for the families that lost their children and for the children who had to put up with abuse from the children's home. This was a very sad story but also joyful because the sisters loved each other so much.

What a heart-wrenching story! I had heard of Georgia Tann before, but did not realize the degree of misery she inflicted. As a mom I found this a hard book to read, but Lisa did a great job.

I hadn't heard of Lisa Wingate and not really being familiar with historical novels, I did my research. The synopsis states that this novel is "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". I knew of the Orphan Trains, but that little gem escaped me.

Once I started reading 'Before We Were Yours' I could not set it down. Fascinating, enthralling, mesmerizing and so very sad at times. Sometimes, I just can't believe some of the things we humans do to each other in the name of greed. I don't cry easily, I can count one hand the number of times a book has brought tears to my eyes. This is one that did. Poignant and powerful story and mind blowing. Very impactful and very well written. Wingate has a true gift for reporting/story telling.

I encourage sharing this book, it's beyond compelling.

Thanks to Lisa Wingate and Random House for a free Advance Reader's Edition for my review.

Have you ever had a novel hangover? Where you feel like you just can’t move on to another novel? Where you wonder what happens to the characters after you’ve finished the last page? Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate was this for me. I loved this book!

As I read about the life Rill, her siblings, Queenie and Briny lived my heart went out to them. I could visualize the shanty they lived on, and their surroundings. Lisa Wingate writes in such a way that you find yourself right there on the river bank with them, locked in the basement of the orphanage with them, and then the mansions too.

The fast-moving plot ranges from magical to evil, and then lovely. It is sad to say that many of the orphans that went to the Tennessee Children’s Home did not have the same results as little orphan Annie. I read this whole book before realizing that it was partially a true story. Georgia Tann was real, and real children were kidnapped and then basically sold to the highest bidder.

This novel would make a great Hallmark movie! It has a little bit of everything… family secrets, a touch of romance, hope and a mystery.

This novel will be released June 6, 2017, so put this title on your to be read (TBR) list. I will remind you when it is available. But while you wait, you should also check out Lisa Wingate’s book, The Prayer Box.

Thanks go out to Netgalley and publisher for providing me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Every once in a great while a book you are reading captivates you so much that you just can’t put it down, and it reaches in and touches your heart and changes this way you look at the world. “Before We Were Yours” is one of those books for me…I have just finished reading it, and I am haunted. As a mother, a sister, and a daughter I was able to feel this story on so many levels. If you are thinking about picking up this book and reading it, DO IT - I am so glad I did!

I don’t want to share a lot of details, because the beauty of it lies in the gradual unfolding of the story. This perspective alternates between Avery Stafford’s in the present day and Rill Foss’s from the past. Avery’s life is filled with family expectations and politics, nieces and nephews she dearly loves, and a fiancé with whom she has yet to finalize wedding plans. Avery gives you a much-needed break from the emotionally charged story from the past. Rill’s family is the polar opposite of Avery’s and the lives they lead are so different, but from the beginning you know they intersect at some point in time, and when they do it is in a way that mirrors the way life is; not everything can be tied up neatly.

Before reading this book I had never heard of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, and if you have not, I recommend NOT looking them up before reading this book – let this book introduce you to them and look it up online later.

Georgia Tann and her Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society are another one of those dark spots in our country's history. From the 1920's until 1950, Miss Tann's endeavors were seen as the pinnacle of caring and compassionate orphan care. What was really happening is beyond comprehension. Destitute women, still under sedation from giving birth, were tricked into signing away their children. Whole families of siblings were virtually kidnapped because their parents were poor and powerless. Lies were told to adoptive families, abuse abounded within the homes that housed the "orphans," nonthriving babies were allowed to die without care. The cutest kids, the ones with curly blonde hair and blue eyes (think Shirley Temple look-alikes) were sent to powerful political and Hollywood families at a premium price. When Tann's dark secrets were finally revealed, no formal charges were pursued. She was only days from a cancer death, and her secrets meant that others who conspired with her (hospitals, police, and politicians) and wealthy clients who simply did not ask questions would also be revealed. I hope that someone writes a nonfiction expose about Tann and her wicked world (I don't think anyone has yet), but until then I strongly recommend Lisa Wingate's sensitive fictional novel telling how Rill and her river rat siblings are kidnapped while their parents are absent from the houseboat they call home. The oldest, Rill, remains determined to flee the "home" they are taken to, but she knows she must stay close to the little ones and protect them the best she can. Soon she realizes that lies and abuse are rampant at the Tann home, and that she cannot believe anything she is told about her parents.

Rill's story is alternately told alternately with a contemporary story about Avery, a prominent lawyer who is being groomed to someday take her father's seat in the Senate. During a press opportunity at a nursing home, Avery captures the attention of an elderly woman, May, who mistakes Avery for the woman's sister Fern. Not content to brush off the woman's distress, Avery visits her again, and that visit begins a quest to learn more about her own grandmother, a woman now locked away in the dementia's cruel prison.

BEFORE WE WERE YOURS is a powerful stories of forgotten pasts, fabricated lives, chosen paths, secrets held, and family ties that will not die. Be prepared to be drawn into this book; once I started I did not want to quit reading. Last night, with 150 pages left, I put aside all thoughts of sleep until I knew what happened to Rill and why May felt a connection to Avery. Wingate is a masterful storyteller; she creates a perfect 12 year old Rill, old enough to be apprehensive of what is happening around her, but still childlike enough to have limited understanding of the greed and evil that has taken over her life. Wingate then chooses to make modern tale story quiet, while revealing. There is plenty of tension and suspense in the secret story that Avery discovers; I like that Wingate chooses to have this discovery happen in a quiet, steady way -- no car chases, clandestine meetings, or suspicious people following her every move -- just a determined woman's to find some answers. I received an ARC copy from Netgalley. All opinions are mine NOTE: I have submitted a review to Christian Books website and it is waiting for approval. I tried to post to Amazon but they are not accepting reviews until publication date. I will try again.

A truly heartbreaking and and at the same time a loving book based on true events. This book first and foremost is about family and the love you have for your family. This book has dual story lines and in the past Rill is the main character and in the present it's Avery. I loved Rill and her courage, her love for her sisters and brother, and her amazing strength. Avery is a lawyer and is being groomed to take over her Dad's senate seat and she would do anything for her family. She has a deep love for them. This is a story of hope, family, and love. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time. I loved the characters and the descriptions of the scenery make you feel like you are right there with them. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

A beautifully written, informative book about a fictitious family and real events that occurred as a result of the children being taken by the Tennessee Children's Home Society, a society that existed between 1920 and 1950. The story is based on truths of the atrocities that children in this society's care were subjected to and the long-term implications that occurred as a result. The story is so beautifully told that it encompasses the reader and even now, a week later, it still haunts me. It was hard to put the book down, even after I completed reading all the author had written. I wanted to know more. I shared the fear and suffering these children and their families experienced at the hands of those who manipulated their families and changed the course of their futures. At first, I plunged forward in hopes of good changes and then to find out the connection to the elderly adults whose story lines were woven throughout the book.

This was my first Lisa Wingate novel and I hope it won't be my last. I received this ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you Random house Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC!
I am new to this author, but absolutely loved this book - one of my favorite reads so far this year!! I love books that go back and forth in time, connecting the past to the present. Many other reviewers say it is similar to Orphan train, and I will agree with that.
This story is based on true events that happened from the 1920's- 1950's & revolves around 2 sisters lives... First with their biological family, living like gypsies on the river and second when they were abruptly taken away to the Tennessee Children's home.
What a powerful story that truly captivated me. I felt the characters fear and anguish!! At times I was so angry with what was happening to those children, who many times had parents who wanted them- but were either tricked or too poor and didn't have the resources to get them back.
I found this book to be both heart-wrenching and uplifting and in the end, the power of sisterhood prevails and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy! Highly recommend.