Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction novel. It is a dual story (past and present) about a group of children torn from their parents and placed in the care of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. It is both a heartwarming and heartbreaking story that I wholeheartedly recommend.
*Favorite quotes from the book:
“It’s hard to believe that, not so many years ago, orphaned children were little more than chattel.”

“I learned that you need not be born into a family to be loved by a family”

“Well, that’s one of the paradoxes of life. You can’t have it all. You can have some of this and some of that or all of this and none of that. We make the trade-offs we think are best at the time.”

Note from the author:
“Though Rill and her siblings exist only in these pages, their experiences mirror those reported by children who were taken from their familites by the Tennessee Children’s Home Society from the twenties through 1950”

This was an excellent story inspired by real life events of which I was previously unaware. For once, I have to admit that the comparison in the blurb is good. This is similar to The Orphan Train in pacing and concept. Both books surround events in history that I didn’t know of until reading the books and both tell the story of children that survived ordeals in their childhood that no one should have to go through.

This book is based upon the events of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society which ran from some time in the 1920s to 1950. The end of the book contains an author’s note, which explains the true story of Georgia Tann, who ran the society, and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. I enjoyed learning about the true parts of the story. The truth was interesting, even though it was also sad and frustrating. I can’t imagine being one of the families effected by this, either as a child or a parent.

The characters in this story are fictional, but well written and developed. You feel for them as they go through the story. You worry for them and can imagine that real people would feel similarly to the way these characters felt. It is understandable how the children would be made to “behave” and do what they are told. The descriptions of the settings were also well written and I could imagine how life was for the people in this story.

This was the first book by Lisa Wingate that I have read. I thought the writing was just great. The story kept me engaged the entire time and maintained a nice pace throughout, doling out information as you go. As stated above, I also thought the author’s note was well done. I would be interested in reading more of her work.

I would recommend this for anyone interested in historical fiction, but be aware of child abuse triggers. 4.5 stars

A riveting novel based on the true story of the Tennessee Children's Home Society and Georgia Tann, an agent working in the Memphis branch of the TCHS. Ms. Tann would take desirable children from poor families by tricking the parents into signing them over to the TCHS. She would then adopt the children out to families that would pay the most to have a cute, young child as their own. Many of the children were taken without their parent's consent and kept in deplorable conditions until they were adopted. This fictional account of a family torn apart by Ms. Tann has the reader on the edge of their seat trying to find out if the Foss children ever get back together and find their biological parents.

an amazing read! I cared about each well developed character and was disappointed to have the story end.

This was such a heart wrenching and touching book! Wingate tells a story in this one that is, at turns, both joyful and heartbreaking. She wrote some great characters and a wonderful story. This one will stay with me for a very long time.

Before We Were Yours features the Tennessee Children's Home Society, which was a true entity that trafficked in children from the 1920's through the 1950's. Georgia Tann, who ran the organization, was given high accolades for decades until all of her evil deeds finally came into light. This book highlights a fictional family who were torn apart by Georgia and her cohorts in 1939. Rill is the oldest of the five Foss siblings, and is left in charge when her mother is having a difficult labor with twins and is taken to the hospital. While their parents are away, the children are taken by the Tennessee Children's Home Society and placed in an awful orphanage where they are very ill treated. As the children are torn away from the others, one by one, Rill feels to blame. This is her story of losing the life she new and gradually coming to accept a new one. Another storyline in the current day, has Avery Stafford meeting May Weathers in a nursing home and realizing she has a connection to Avery's grandmother, Judy. As Avery puzzles out their ties, she has to decide what direction she will take at a crossroads in her own life.

This is an intensely emotional book, and it really pulled me in and had me caring about the characters. I'm sure it will be one of the top ones of the year for me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

What an amazing story! I had no idea about Georgia Tank or the orphanage. All those lies and secrets! It was heartbreaking to learn about what the children endured while living in her care. It amazes me that it could go on for so long and be so profitable. What a terrible way to make something that should be so good, so bad. Two of my favorite quotes from the book. "Your past does not predict your future." and " The truth is still the truth. It has value."

very Stafford, a young lawyer from an esteemed South Carolina political family, stumbles upon information that causes her to question her heritage and that may threaten her father's political status. The author transposes her story of investigation with the story of May Weathers, a young girl who, together with her siblings, was stolen from her parents and placed in the care of the Tennesee Children's Home. The children's home adoption agency, masterminded by Georgia Tann, was a real association existing from the 1930s-1950. Historical records and memories of the children placed in the agency describe an organization where abuse was rampant and illegal behavior was commonplace. While this story is fictional, the home was real and the experiences of the Foss children are similar to factual accounts.
Wingate has written an engaging and absorbing story. The characters are well-formed. May (Rill) is inspirational and her commitment to protect her brothers and sisters in impossible situations makes her a true hero. Avery has inherited her determination and persistemce and does not rest until the truth is known. During the process she grows and becomes confident in her own abilities.
This is a good read for anyone interested in Southern writers or anyone interested in historical fiction, especially with women as strong characters.

If you found the subject of the Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline intriguing, you will want to read this book. This story covers the fate of orphans during the late 1930’s and the images it leaves you with are haunting. It begins in the present day with Avery Stafford, the prominent daughter of a senator from South Carolina. During a press conference in a nursing home, she meets May Crandall, an elderly patient who is sure that Avery is someone from May’s past. The exchange pulls at her heartstrings but the nurses lead May away explaining that she is new at this home and confused. This would be the end of it but unknown to Avery, May slips off her bracelet and takes it. When this becomes apparent, Avery returns to collect the bracelet and in May’s room she finds a picture that bears a strong resemblance to her grandmother. This starts Avery’s quest to find out exactly who May is. Her journey leads to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The horrors that are exposed and the insight into her past is something she could never have imagined.

Ms. Wingate keeps the story interesting and moving by having two people narrate the story. For May, her story starts in the past and progresses to the present. It is captivating yet heartbreaking as you relive her life through her eyes and the sorrows she endures and still carries with her. Avery’s story is told in the present as she not only struggles to find the truth about May and her grandmother, but also her struggles to live the life that is expected of her. Both are enthralling reads and makes this book hard to put down.

This historical fiction book did exactly what a good one of this genre should, it inspired me to research the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and adoption in the late 30’s. Although May and her family are fictional, the events that transpired are horrifying but real. Stories like this need to be told and recognized so we don’t repeat our past and I highly recommend this work. This book can be read by young teen readers to adult although some of the images evoked can be disturbing.

I requested and received this book from NetGalley for review.

I was blown away by this story and the great writing! I’ve never read a novel by Ms.Wingate but I will certainly be looking for more of her books.

This novel tells the historically correct story about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society which was run by Georgia Tann in the late 1930’s. The story of the main characters was fiction but based on what really happened to many of the children in this orphanage.

The plot is written from two points of view, that of Rill, later named May by her adoptive parents and Avery, the daughter of a senator whose grandmother is now in a nursing home.

From Rill’s story we learn about the children, many of whom were living in river shanty boats or other very low income type housing who were literally stolen away from their parents. Her story is heartbreaking but also triumphant, as she tries to protect her younger siblings who were all taken from their shanty boat on the river while her mother and father were in the city while taking care of her mother who was in a complicated labor and delivery. The children in this particular “home for orphans” were treated terribly, families ripped apart, the children living in terrible conditions and malnourished, some emotionally and physically abused.

Avery, who was always very close to her grandmother, sees that she is slowing losing her memories and yet reveals in a conversation to Avery that there may be more to her life than anyone had ever known. When Avery meets another woman in a different nursing home who strongly resembles her grandmother and has a picture with her grandmother in it, she is determined to find out how these women are connected. She is also sure that there are more secrets to her grandmother’s life that she wants to learn about feeling that her grandmother’s memory is slowly slipping away and there is a limited amount of time to uncover the truth.

There are other strong characters in this book that are all well developed. The writing is exceptional and the two story lines keep the reader puzzled as to how they will connect for the first two thirds of the book making the end discoveries a very engaging read.

Not only is the book well written but it informs us of the atrocities that went on for many years under the Tennessee orphan home system. After I read the book I went online to learn more about this period in history and there is a lot to discover. I recommend this book to everyone who likes to read a well written character driven novel with a suspenseful atmosphere and historical details.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, thank you so much! Will also post to Amazon upon publication.

When I finished this book last night the first thing I had to say to myself was wow - what a powerful book. I have read all of Lisa's Carolina series and loved each of them and thought they were touching, but this one was even more so. If that is even possible.

Before We Were Yours By Lisa Wingate

This book had me hooked from the beginning. It has to do with a piece of Tennessee history, where a woman named Georgia Tann, ran the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis; here she ran a black market baby adoption scheme (1920's-1950) illegally taking children from their parents.

The book is a work of fiction except for the facts above. The main family that we read about is a made up family, but the author had heard a lot of stories from the actual children, who were there in the children' home, thus giving us a true to life feel for what went on in this home.

This book takes place both in the past and present and starting in 1939 we follow the lives of the Foss family, where there are five siblings, Rill, 12 the oldest and her four siblings, three more girls and a young boy. They live on a boat on the Mississippi river, but when the mother is having difficulties in her present pregnancy, the father is forced to take her to a hospital, leaving Rill in charge of her siblings on the boat, and here is where everything changes.

Now in present day, we follow the life of Avery Stafford, a privileged thirty something, lawyer and daughter of a politician. She comes home to Aiken South Carolina to help her father who is having health problems, and help him with his reelection. While touring a nursing home with him, she has an encounter with one of the residents, that leaves her with some uncomfortable questions and wanting to look into her families history.

This book really keeps you interested and it was fascinating to see how these different characters from the two different time periods and generations mesh together.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

I may not recommend it to my students, but I've already recommended it to all my friends as a must-read. Honestly, I hadn't paid much attention to the author, but my mom looked it up while we were talking and said "Lisa Wingate! Well of course I have to put this on my wishlist!" She's right, too. Everything we've read by LW just captures us. I finished this in two days - could not put it down. Everytime I thought I had a piece figured out, there would be a new twist...right up to the last pages.

If I could rate this higher than 5 stars I would. Heartbreaking, emotional, captivating..

Before we were yours tells the tale of a family ripped apart at the core in Tennessee, 1939. Georgia Tann ran The Tennessee Children's Home Society from the 1930's-50's. Illegally kidnapping and adopting out children of poor families and placing them in the care of those more fortunate.

Rill Foss lives with her parents and four siblings on The Arcadia along the river. Dirt poor but happy, one day the Foss' children's world is turned upside down when they are taken from their boat and placed in an orphanage. Rill does all she can to keep all the children together. The walls inside the orphanage are musty, dank and full of horrible conditions.

Told in alternating chapters between the past and present, this story will drag you in and hold tight until it's time for it to end. I was captivated by this book. Historical fiction combined with a little suspense and love are all a perfect combination. Before reading this novel I was not aware of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Naturally, after reading the Author's note, I jumped on the internet and searched. A wonderful read! Definitely will be recommending!

Edge of your seat, page turner, read into the wee hours of the night. Could not put it down. Lisa Wingate's books are inspirational and entertaining.

Avery returns home to her Senator father fighting cancer, as well as trying to keep up a competent front for reelection as part of a prominent Southern family. In the process of protecting her father, Avery uncovers a mystery about her grandmother's past. Avery is engaged but feels that her friendship with her fiancée is just that, especially when she meets Trent Turner while solving her grandmother's past. I couldn't put the book down as revelations of a crooked child stealing adoption scheme, based on real history in the 1930 s to the 1950's, is uncovered.

Excellent, Excellent!! A story partly fiction about 5 children dragged from their loving but very poor home. and put in an orphanage. Their living conditions go from bad to worse in this wonderfully written book. .This was a privately owned facility and let me tell you these people handsomely profited from these children being adopted if they made it out of there. A few of these five children made it into a respectable home and this is their story.

I first would like to thank the publisher and Net Galley for my copy of Lisa Wingate's novel "Before We Were Yours." This is a historical fiction novel based on a true story of orphaned children during the 20's thru 50's. The story is a heartbreaking and captivating book told in alternating chapters between past and present.. Taken from their parents during an illegal raid a family is split up. The story takes one through the hardships of growing up in a orphanage, their placement and finally to the present. A fascinating story about this very sad time in our nation's history. Lisa Wingate's novel is excellent I would recommend anyone to read it who loves historical fiction. This is not a chick flick book as one would think. A 5 plus star read.

I had previously read books by this author and did not care for. But this one, I really enjoyed. Knew little of the illegal adoptions done in the 1930-1950"s. Was I ever shocked to learn all this. I will recommend this to my patrons and my book club.