When Lisa Wingate wrote her historical fiction book, “Before We Were Yours”, little did she know that she would start a movement across the globe? Descendents of Georgia Tann’s illegally adopted children reached out seeking solace and closure, grasping for the common thread these children finally found with others. But the wave of energy, desire to learn and mix of emotions came forward like a storm. And the storm is far from over, it seems.
One doesn’t have to read “Before We Were Yours” in order to appreciate and understand “Before and After”. But it adds to the compassion and sensitivity that Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate display while addressing the large influx of comments, questions, and emotions that bubbled to the surface after her historical fiction book was published. Finally, after so many years of feeling ashamed or programmed to not speak of adoption, these children and their descendants could finally talk, research, compare and share. This book is a small sampling of the lives that were affected by this sad chapter of our history: illegal adoptions made easy because of the stigma of unwed mothers, poor families, greed and kidnapping.
This is a sensitive and well-written memoir, a salute of respect to those who were our most helpless, and a chain of strength for them to pull together now in memory.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks so much to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley for making it available.)

I’ll start by saying I absolutely loved Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, it was one of my top favorite books. When I received this ARC I was anxious to get started reading, but I did not make it half way through. I found the writing style and use of names very hard to follow therefore finding it difficult to get emotionally involved with the people. The authors talk a lot about themselves and getting a reunion together, which was like, oh well. There is no doubt Georgia Tann was a horrific human being. I learned much more about her researching her on the internet then by reading this book. . After reading Before We Were Years I went on the internet and really enjoyed reading the stories of the adoptive men and women, I felt a much deeper connection to all the people involved and even needed to grab Kleenex. I think it is just the style in which this was written that left me void of emotion. It is not like me to not be weeping when I read a book like this. I am addicted to reading and always get lost emotionally in the books that I read. This one just did not do it for me. My recommendation is to research Georgia Tann and The Tennessee Childrens Home Society Orphanage rather than read Before and After by Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

I love their other books but this just doesn't do it for me. I think its because I am veering away from historical fiction

After I read Before We Were Yours, I was moved by the tales of the orphans that went through the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The thought of thousands of children kidnapped in a modern society in the middle of America with the help of corrupt politicians is bewildering. They estimated number of children that died there is grievous. After Lisa’s novel was published, so many of the people who were stolen from their families began reaching out to her. She formed a reunion and documented many of their stories. These stories are equally beautiful and devastating. There are lives that turned out well and those that have suffered for generations because of torment.

There was one story that spoke to my heart. A couple had been offered a perfect boy and when they went to pick him up, they heard a baby whimpering in the corner of the room. The couple pushed past the operator of the orphanage to the baby. She lay there tongue tied and covered in a rash. They took that baby home against the wishes of the orphanage. This baby would grow up and later find out how Georgia Tann would place ugly or sick babies in the corner and let them starve to death. The estimates are that around 500 babies died there. This couple that refused the perfect child and chose the baby in need of care spoke volumes to my heart. The is beauty amidst the brokenness. Great read.

This book was graciously provided by the publisher for my review.

I was unsure if a non-fiction investigation of real-life adoptees from the Tennesee Children's Home Society would pack the same punch as "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate. This book lives up to the novel, and provides an interesting insight into the lives of children, now adults, who were victims of Georgia Tann and the TCHS adoption system which flourished in the 1940s. Here, Wingate and Judy Christie tell some of the stories of the children and families affected by Tann's corrupt system, and relate the efforts to reunite long lost siblings, cousins, and the whole group for a massive reunion in Memphis.

In Before and After, Julie Christie and Lisa Wingate share with us stories form the adoptees and their families who were affected by Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Beginning in 1923, the society was supposed to be assisting desperate mothers who needed assistance finding a good home for their children because of desperate situations. For some it was simply they could not keep a child for whatever reason, for others, they were tricked into accepting what these mothers thought were temporary help while they recovered from an illness or improved their financial situations. Children were a commodity to Georgia Tann and she ran a crooked business selling these precious children. She even sent out a catalog at Christmas for prospective buyers to choose from. Julie and Lisa began connecting with so many victims of Georgia Tann after Lisa Wingate published her fictional account, Before We Were Yours, of what so many children went through during those years. Before and After shares stories of the adults these children became on spite of what Georgia Tann did to them and their families. This book made me angry that this even went on, it made me cry at the stories, both good and bad, that these children lived. If you have not read Before We Were Yours, you should and then you should run back to purchase a copy of Before and After. This book is wonderful. Than you NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine books for the chance to read this book for an honest review.

Before and After is a passion project that is both heartbreaking and amazing. The horrible predatory behaviors of the Tennessee Childrens' Home Society separated countless children from their parents and made it very difficult for them ever to reunite. Thanks to the efforts of Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate, many of these children found each other and became their own support group. This book discusses the history of the individuals affected by this horrible and rarely discussed occurrence in both the situations that led them to be taken in on the first count and how their lives were affected. Bring yourself a box of tissues, because this one is a tearjerker.

Have you read Before We Were Yours?

If the answer to that is no, you need to drop whatever it is you are doing, go get yourself a copy, and start reading. Then come back to read this review.

If the answer is yes, then you know all about Georgia Tann and the horrific things she did while running the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis Tennessee. Selling children, stealing babies and putting them up for adoption, letting the kids in her care live in filth and die from sickness and lack of care. She made millions off of selling children in adoptions, all while having the legal system players in her back pocket. Where are those children today?

This book is their story. It’s the story of those adopted out by Georgia Tann, or of their families as they searched to find out more about the adoption that lead them to where they are today. These stories are heartbreaking, but also hopeful. I am so glad that so many people were able to find out more about their family and get to visit with others that had been through a similar adoption process. This book is truly beautiful.

This books focuses on one of the most evil women in American History and what she put countless children through. I am speaking of Georgia Tann, who ran illegal orphanages in Tennessee from the 1930s to 1950. This woman would steal children from poor families, change their names, and adopt them out to prestigious families. The author does an excellent job of writing a historical fiction book about Georgia Tann, and having it be told through the eyes of the children that she abducted. We follow the lives of 5 children who grow up on a shanty on the Mississippi River. They did not have money, but their family had love. That would all end when Georgia Tann sends the police to take the children and bring them to her. You will not believe the horrors that happen inside of the orphanage. It is hard to believe that the children survived at all. This book does justice to all of the children that died while under Ms. Tann's "care." It gives them a voice.

However, the present day part of the book was not written as well. I got tired of hearing about The Stafford Family and politics. I felt the the author spent too much time in the beginning talking about Avery Stafford's father and his political career. It never really ties into the story. I felt those were wasted pages that could have been filled up with more details that the author cut short.

The ending was not written well either. All of the sudden the book was done. It was like she got tired of writing it. The part of the ending about the sisters was sweet. The part about Avery was cut short. What happened when she called off her wedding? How did Bitsy react? She makes these issues such a part of the story, yet she never develops them.

All in all I would recommend this book. I couldn't put it down. I couldn't wait to get home from work to finish the ending.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This is an outstanding nonfiction book that goes along with Lisa Wingate’s novel, Before We Were Yours. . This book delves into the lives of many people who were adopted from Georgia Tann’s unethical and horrible adoption agency in Tennessee between the 1920’s and 1950. . The authors sought out the adoptees for a very emotional reunion and to help them reunite with family members. The various stories were very interesting and heartbreaking. Many times, Georgia Tann lied to the adoptive parents about the children they were getting and also to the birth mothers. She was a very evil and twisted personality. The sad part is that she died before all this came out!

Before and After is the perfect title for this book. It is a collection of true life stories of the how and why babies and children ended up in the hands of Georgia Tann, the women responsible for operating a very unorthodox orphanage in Tennessee, and then after being raised by their adoptive parents to finally find that they have family and siblings in the world. Lisa Wingate's Before we were Yours sets the stage for this real life book. Read them both. They are awesome books.

So moving. Reading the true stories about adoptees, their biological parents and the parents that adopted them was so emotional. Each story so unique. The gut wrenching decisions parents had to make and the horrors these children endured throughout their lives are stories everyone should read. It is unfathomable to me how this was allowed to take place.

UUUUGGGGHHHH...why do I torture myself? I really didn't like the book, Before We Were Yours. yet decided to give this book a try.
Over 20% of this book is the authors patting themselves on the back for getting a "reunion" together. The authors write about what THEY were doing, how THEY felt, why THEY were doing this...it got really OLD very quickly.

The part that I loved was the stories of those who were adopted. I liked to hear how they found lost relatives.
Overall the majority of them were better off being adopted.
I had to wonder if NOT every adoptee feels this way, not just those that were taken by Georgia Tann.

This book was unnecessary and more to boost the authors egos then to provide any answers to the adoptees.

This book was not what I expected nor wanted.

This is a collection of real life stories of children (now adults) and what they went through at Tann's Tennessee "orphanage". If you have read Before We Were Yours then you know that book deals with Tann and her practices as fiction. This book tells the real stories of children and families who actually went through it. I highly recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

First of all, I can not imagine how the authors were able to listen to all the stories of the victims of Georgia Tann. Tann being the notorious child trafficker, who stole and sold countless children from 1924-1950 under the guise of the Children's Home Society in Tennessee. Some of the stories where happy but most were not. It's unimaginable the pain and frustration these children and birth parents underwent. The book was well written and offered interesting narratives of several of the victims. I found it difficult to read because of the hurt and pain suffered by so many.

THIS book had me in tears, staying up late to see the next person's story. Made me want to reread Before We Were Yours immediatley. What a labor of love this book is....for the interviewers and interviewees. Sometimes, with historical fiction, you get so lost in the story and beloved characters, that you forget it is based in fact. It was both fascinating and at the same time heart-breaking to read the true life stories of the children (now adults) and their expereiences with Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society. This amazing book, reminded me and I'm sure others.....that the evil wrought upon these children impacted families for generations.....and still resonates today within many families across the United States. Thank you Judy Christie and Lisa Windgate for allowing theses stories to be told.

I received an ARC of this book via @netgalley. Thank you for that.

I was interested in this book once I saw it dealt with the same subject matter as Before We Were Yours, Before We Were Yours absolutely wrecked me in all of the best ways and left me thinking about it weeks later. So when I saw this was real life stories of children who went through Georgia Tann's system I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, I think I had too high of expectations.

I found this book to be lacking emotion. This is a highly sensitive subject matter and I was expecting to need to grab the tissues. So it was surprising to me that I couldn't connect with any of the people in this book. It felt like we were kept at a distance, I was seeing them from afar rather than really getting to know their stories. Part of this might be the amount of stories being told. Rather than focusing on a select few, we are introduced to a multitude of families effected by Tann. To me this wasn't a smart choice. I understand thousands went through those doors, but by introducing so many people we only get a teaser to their story. I wanted so much more!

The only redeeming quality for me here was getting a glimpse into my own family. My mother found out she was adopted and had step siblings in her thirties. So I was able to connect with some of the children that were interviewed here as well as understand my mother a bit more. If you had family members that were adopted, I think you might enjoy this book. But otherwise, I would probably pass.

I'm struggling with writing this review because I expected this book to wreck me, but that wasn't the case. Because of how short each person's story was I had a hard time connecting with the characters and I feel this book would have been better if they focused on only a few stories. I really wanted to love this one, but ultimately I was indifferent. This topic had the opportunity to be a great book, but it fell short.

What an amazing book!  These true stories of what happened during the time that Georgia Tann  operated her unlicensed Tennessee orphanage after stealing babies, illegally talking the mothers into giving them up permanently instead of temporary foster care.  There were many ways Tann got babies and children and hid them.  This horrible place operated from 1924-1950.
It's very sad what happened to discover many babies died that were sick or premature due to the neglect in the Tennessee Children's Home Society.  This book shares many true experiences by the adoptees and their families.  It is the kind of book that I didn't want to read yet I just knew I had to!  The pain, agony, feelings and knowing something was missing  these adoptees shared in their interviews is heart- wrenching.   As I read to the end my heart felt heavy and I felt like I wanted to do something to help!
This book comes after Lisa Wingate's novel, Before We Were Yours and both books are amazing!

Before and After documents more of Georgia Tann's reprehensible actions. Wingate's novel struck a chord with so many who were adopted and had many unanswered questions. This was such a compelling and heartbreaking read. So many lives affected by a vile woman who played God and profited from it. I enjoyed reading the individual stories, although some reunions were not so joyous. Anyone who read Wingate's book just has to read this book as well.