I liked this one about a time period when women didn’t have reproductive rights and were forced by society, the church and men to give up their children. I book which foreshadows the things happening in this country now
Thanks for letting me review the book to Netgalley and the publisher

Once You Were Mine by Elizabeth Langston was a story about parents forcing their pregnant daughter to go in an unwed mother’s home. Her parents would not allow her to keep her baby or she could not return home to her family I felt so sorry for Molly all the things she had to go through. Women had to suffer so much during this time where men got off free. in the story friends did DNA and found out they were related to a grandmother.

Back in the sixties, young girls who were in a "family way" did not have a choice to keep their baby.
Most were sent away to a place for unwed mothers.
This is an emotional, heartbreaking journey of a young girl finds herself pregnant and is hurried to an abusive, horrific place to have her child.

Present day- Allison,who always was curious about her family tree,decides to take a DNA test.
Her mother was adopted and has no idea of her relatives and does not really care to know anything about them. She is not happy that her daughter took this test.
However- as time goes on and the results return there are many surprises and troubles.
Can this family learn and live with the the outcome?

This is story is told in alternating timelines and it is historical fiction at its best.
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Lake Union Publishing for this ARC and allowing me to provide my own review.

This is the first book I’ve read from Elizabeth Langston and I really enjoyed it. It’s a dual timeline past/present book with quick, short chapters that focus on ancestry and heritage. It’s heartbreaking and eye-opening of what some women went through in the 1950s. The protagonist Allison helps people link DNA results with locating lost relatives. She also discovers some information about her own origins. This information impacts her current life in ways she never considered. It’s a fresh new concept and it’s well-written, I really enjoyed this book and I’d recommend it to anyone..

Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book but I loved it. It is such a heartbreakingly beautiful story. Thank you for the ARC copy.

I really enjoyed this book! From page one I was pulled into the story that alternated from before and after starting at 1969 to 2024.
The story focuses on ancestry and genealogy and the ramifications of adoption for the adopted and eve maternal parents. There are secrets and lies in this story but as most of us we yearn for the happy ending. Of course I am not going to give away the story but I will say this, this being the first book I’ve read by Elizabeth Langston it won’t be a last. Adding books to my tbr list asap.
Thank you for allowing me to read this one early for the exchange of a honest review.
Great book and I look forward to more from this author. Publication date is Feb 2025 so I’m afraid you will have to wait to read this one.
Enjoy!!

This was a very emotional read. The writing style was fantastic. Its a good book on the effects of adoption. It is hard to believe women went through what they did in the 50's. I got a little confused with all of the characters at times, but I overall really enjoyed this and highly recommend this author.

I really enjoyed this book!

It is the first book I’ve read in a while where I felt emotionally connected to the characters. The story was well well written and explored with sensitivity the complex emotions each character could feel about one situation.

The book has short chapter and switches between their point of view at a good pace. It was engaging and made me want to read more.

I was always excited to pick this book up again and disappointed when it ended, which is always a sign of a good book for me!

This is not my typical style of book I gravitate toward but the description intrigued me greatly.

This book gripped me from the first chapter. The storylines flowed seamlessly from each decade to the next and thru the different povs.
This story made your heart sad, mad, happy and everything in between.

This book warmed my heart and soul.

I am happy that the world has evolved since the 1960s but we still have so far to go as woman.

The narrative begins with the teenage protagonist being sent to an abusive maternity home, where she faces shame and manipulation, ultimately being deceived into signing adoption papers. This traumatic experience shapes her life and echoes throughout the years.

In contemporary times, we meet Allison Garrett, who serves as a “search angel.” She utilizes DNA tests to assist individuals in locating lost relatives. However, her most compelling search revolves around her own mother, who was abandoned as a baby. As Allison delves deeper into her family history, she uncovers revelations that extend beyond mere origins; these discoveries threaten to disrupt the harmony of her close-knit community.

It is a heartfelt exploration of connections between friends and family across generations, highlighting the enduring impact of choices made in moments of crisis.

This was a really well done novel, it had that realistic charm that I was looking for and enjoyed how well the characters were written. Elizabeth Langston is able to create a strong story and characters and was glad I was able to read this.

This was such a heartwrenching and touching story about a mother having to give her baby up for adoption. I loved the dual timelines as that worked really well for this story. I also love that Search Angels is an actual organization.

This novel explores complex and complicated relationships as it reveals changing social mores and contemporary issues related to genealogy. It is a deeply emotional read that is both heart-wrenching and heart-affirming.

In 1968 Molly Mitchell, a seventeen-year-old girl, discovers she is pregnant, and is shipped off to a “maternity home” where she endures abuse and coercion to relinquish her child. The long-lasting effects of her trauma are chronicled as she slowly pieces together a life vastly different from her adolescent dream. Her resilience is inspiring and her story a compelling condemnation of the attitudes and behaviors prevalent in that period.

In a second timeline, Allison is a “search angel,” supporting others in their quest to understand their family trees. Her mother, who was adopted, is bitter over her abandonment and has no desire to seek out her birth mother. When Allison submits her own DNA for testing, she discovers unknown familial links between herself and her best friend. The deeper she goes as she pursues her research the more secrets are revealed that unravel relationships that eventually lead to back to Molly and the opportunity to correct misperceptions and heal old wounds.

The writing is well-paced and kept me engaged with the characters between the alternating timelines. My only issue was the sheer number of characters became a bit confusing as the two timelines converged in the present. Overall, the book was illuminating and informative about the benefits and pitfalls of genealogical research. It was interesting to discover that “Search Angels” is an actual organization.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Stggling with this review. Was looking forward to reading it but found it very easy to get confused as to who was who at the beginning. Very tempted to stop but kept on and I did actually enjoy it!

I really liked this book! It followed 2 timelines and they do intervene. It goes over the traumatic experience a young mother endured when she had to give up her child. It follow through to that daughter and we see the daughter learn about what her own mother went through when giving her up. It was emotional and touching, and I liked reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

A great read. I did enjoy the storyline that was in the past a great deal more than the present one, but overall a good book.

This was a heartbreaking book but with happy endings. I don't want to say so much or I will give it away. You get the backstory of the seventeen-year-old girl who had to give her child up for adoption and stay at an abusive "maternity home". You follow along as Allison figures out the details of her mother being abandoned as a baby. There is lots of emotions and drama in this book. I recommend.

An emotional and gripping story about a young unwed mother in the past and the repercussions she faced. It follows her through physical and mental abuse she endured in an unwed mother’s home. It tells of the success she achieved in life. It follows the future generations affected by her decisions and the decisions made for her. I highly recommend this story that grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t let go till the end.