Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your links to the comments so that others can see what you picked.
Hello fellow book nerds and welcome to Goodreads Monday! This week I will be featuring Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, a historical fiction inspired by one of America’s most notorious real life scandals involving a Memphis based adoption organization.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale.
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 that the truth is much darker. 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 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—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.
I love reading historical fiction, but I generally stick to WWII stories. When I saw this story, though, it sounded so interesting I knew I had to add it to my TBR. I am really looking forward to reading this one! Anyone read this one already or have on you TBR as well?
Happy Reading!
I really want to read this one, too! I’ve been warned it’s going to turn me into an emotional trainwreck, though, hah. Hope you love it when you read it!
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Seems like it would be a rough one to read, but sometimes those are the best!
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Read it and loved it! It is one of my favorite books last year 😊. I hope you love it too!
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It’s on my list. Just haven’t felt strong enough to start It yet.
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It will definitely be a tough in to read. It is so sad to had to read these stories and know they are true, but I find them fascinating.
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Yeah, me too. They break my heart but I love reading them.
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I saw this one and wanted to read it, then forgot about it. I must check the library and see if it is available. Thanks for the reminder.
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