When Molly faces an unplanned pregnancy in 1968, she is sent to an abusive “maternity home” where she is all but forced to sign adoption papers. Fast forward to current day, Allison volunteers as a “search angel” helping strangers locate lost relatives through a DNA search. Allison has found some discoveries about her own mother that hits close to home.

This was such a compelling and heartbreaking story!! You feel for Molly and her heartbreak and are able to see how the story eventually ends years into the future when DNA connects families back together. You will definitely cry with this story and it’s such a heartwarming tale of families and the ties that bind!

If you love books told in dual timelines such as past and present this is the book for you. If you love books about heartbreaking scenarios this is the book for you. If you love books about historical hard touchy subjects this is the book for you.


When Molly Mitchell, then seventeen, becomes pregnant in 1968, her parents send her to a violent "maternity home." In order to force her to sign adoption paperwork, the facility mistreats, shames, and condemns her. Gwen, her roommate there, becomes a friend for life. She puts a lot of effort into building a life for herself after leaving the house. Today, Allison Garrett does a DNA test and finds some shocking information. Her history was unknown because her mother was adopted. According to the test findings, Allison and her best friend Bree are closely connected. They're cousins. In both families, this starts a quest for the truth and answers. This family story moves at a steady pace and has all the emotions.
This family story switches between the two distinct eras at a steady pace. It illustrates the contrast between the past, when family secrets could be kept secret, and the present, when practically everything can be found out and made public. There are a number of subplots that are followed, even if the major narrative line is the genealogical investigation and ancestry question. Both timelines' characters are fully developed and presented as complex, realistic people. In essence, Molly's narrative is about the trauma she went through at the age of seventeen and the life she went on to lead. Allison and Bree's story revolves around the ancestry question, which upsets both families and causes conflicting feelings, as well as issues in their everyday lives.

This was my first read by this Author. This was a solid read and I would encourage other readers to read it.

A DNA test can turn your world upside down. A scared teenager, who is needing the love and support the most from her family is sent away to a "home for expecting mothers". Molly's story begins in the late 1960's. Stripped from all rights, self worth and her old identify. She is treated less than human she is forced to give up her babies. In 2024 two besties take a DNA test, turns out their results were not what they were expecting. They go on a journey, trying to uncover what secrets someone was trying to bury. Will their whole world be shattered? Have the kleenex ready.

What an emotional story! I liked the dual timelines and characterization. If you are into genealogy and ancestry, you will enjoy this fantastic book.

Many thanks for my gifted copy. My review will be shared to my Instagram account, closer to publication day.

Past and present collide in this tale of what DNA tests can reveal. Allison is surprised when she discovers that her friend Bree is actually her cousin. That news doesn't go over well with everyone because there's a secret out there. This moves back and forth in time to tell the story of Molly, who was forced to give up her baby for adoption in 1969, and Allison, who is looking for truth. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's emotional and while it might not be entirely surprising it's still a good read.

Once You Were Mine by Elizabeth Langston is an emotional and gripping story that dives deep into the complexities of relationships, choices, and personal growth. The characters are well-developed, and the storytelling pulls you in with its raw, realistic portrayal of life’s unexpected turns.

While the pacing slowed in a few places, the emotional depth and thought-provoking themes kept me engaged. It’s not a light read, but it’s one that lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished. If you enjoy stories that explore human nature and resilience, this one is definitely worth picking up!

Interesting story of a young woman in the 1960’s who was pregnant and felt adoption was the only option for her. The book goes back and forth in time between then and present day, but it’s very easy to follow. Lots of little twists and turns that keep me engaged!

What an interesting book on family: perceived family, found family, blended family. And DNA! It illustrates the results of successfully searching your ancestry. Very often, things are not as they seem.

I always thought that people who discover lost or unknown family members (through DNA searches) would be thrilled. I did not realize how much hurt and confusion revealed secrets can cause. Existing relationships can be threatened. Coming together does not happen in an instant.

The root of the story is about a young woman, age 18, who is sent to a maternity home for unwed mothers. It's hard to believe that as late as 1969, these homes could be such horrible places. Decisions were forced on these young ladies that impacted them forever. It was still not acceptable to keep a baby born out of wedlock.

I was fascinated by how much many things have changed for women in my lifetime. We've come a long way in 50+ years. I think that sometimes we don't realize it until it is spelled out for us. Mind you, there are still changes that need to be made.

The book is well written. Usually, when there are two timelines, I tend to like one better than the other. But, in this case, both timelines were interesting and they flowed together well. There is a fairly large cast of characters. Just like in real life, I liked some of them. Others, not so much. But, I cared to see how everything would play out. And, it played out realistically, as it should.

The only problem I had with the story was that I found it difficult to keep the different members of each branch of the family straight. Regardless, it did not distract me for long.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

This story was told in a past and present format and, as is typically the case for me, I enjoyed the past much more than I did the present. The characters in the past timeline were far more interesting and sympathetic; Molly and Gwen were fantastic, and I found myself wanting to know more and more about their lives and how they dealt with and moved on from their circumstances. Their storyline pulled me in and held my interest for its historical value. In contrast, the characters in the present storyline were shallow and spoiled; I struggled with how Allison and Bri reacted to the situation, and their stories lacked for emotion or thoughtfulness. I think there was a lot of opportunity to bring emotions into the present timeline, given the circumstances of how the events ultimately unfolded. That opportunity just wasn't executed well. And finally, the ending felt incredibly rushed, like the author realized they had to tie everything up in a big bow and only and a few pages left to do it. The story jumped from tense and messy to happy and clean in a blink of an eye.

unfortunately this book was not my cup of tea. oh well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my review

Once You Were Mine by Elizabeth Langston is a highly recommended family drama following characters in dual time periods while exploring DNA testing and changing societal attitudes.

In 1968 seventeen-year-old Molly Mitchell is pregnant and her parents send her away to an abusive "maternity home." She is mistreated, shamed and condemned at the facility with the goal of coercing her into signing adoption papers. Her roommate there, Gwen, becomes a lifelong friend. After she leaves the home she works hard to make a life for herself.

In the present day Allison Garrett takes a DNA test and makes some startling discoveries. Because her mother was adopted, her background was a mystery. The results of the test show that Allison is closely related to her best friend, Bree. They are cousins. This sets into motion a search for answers and the truth in both families.

This is an even paced family drama that alternates between the two different time periods. It demonstrates the difference between a time when family secrets could be hidden and the current time when almost everything can be discovered and exposed. Although the genealogical research and ancestry question is the main story line, there are also several other subplots that are followed.

The characters in both timelines are fully realized and portrayed as complicated realistic individuals. Molly's story is basically the trauma she experienced at seventeen and then the life she made for herself afterward. The story of Allison and Bree follow complications in their daily lives along with the ancestry question, which shakes up both families and leads to tangled emotions.

The novel starts out strong but does lose some energy in the middle. There were some ancillary subplots that could have been eliminated to tighten up the novel. Additionally, the maternity home was certainly a real thing years ago and adds a highly emotional hook to the plot, but that was not a universal experience of all pregnant teens. Honestly, many families can look into their history and find complications and secrets.
Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I devoured this book! I signed up for ancestry.com when my daughter was an infant and have dabbled in genealogy ever since. I also love that this story had a dual timeline, one of which was in the late 1960's at a maternity home for unwed mothers. After reading 'Looking for Jane', this has become an interest of mine.

Molly had a summer romance and became pregnant at the age of 17. She was sent to an unsavory maternity home where mothers were forced through manipulation and deception to relinquish their babies to adoptive families. The abusive conditions on many levels jives with what I have read in other novels set in these maternity homes.

Langston moved her story along nicely. Often in a dual timeline, I have a stronger connection to one over the other. In this case, it was more balanced for me. I appreciated that Molly was a strong female main character and was a pioneer in her field of study. I also enjoyed reading the conflict between characters who were more traditional in mindset in the 60s and 70s and those who were more progressive as this dichotomy was prevalent during that time period. My favorite 2024 character was Allison whose volunteer gig of locating relatives through DNA tests turned personal. Bree for most of the book was unlikable for me personally, but I appreciate the struggle she and other characters had coming to terms with the past and its impact on them.

This book had me from the description and it did not disappoint...so much so that I read it in one sitting! Thank you to Elizabeth Langston, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy. Once You Were Mine alternates between different perspectives and times. In the present day, we are introduced to Allison Garrett as she uncovers the history of her family. We are also introduced to Molly, whose life changed when she got pregnant in 1968. I enjoyed the different perspectives, especially Molly’s struggles. It’s awful how it was back then if you were unwed and pregnant. I do feel like the story moved fast. It felt rushed in some aspects, and a few of the time jumps confused me.

"Once You Were Mine" by Elizabeth Langston is a dual-timelines novel that follows a family's genealogical path from the 1968 to present-day. The earlier timeline tells the story of Molly, a teenager, who is forced to live in a home for unwed mothers in North Carolina, while the later plot revolves around Allison and Bree, two friends whose lives change in unforeseen ways as Allison uncovers the truth about her family's history.

I found the 1960s timeline and Molly's story to be the more interesting of the two, and it kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. The history of the poor treatment of unwed mothers and forced adoptions was devastating to read, and Langston's writing is strongest in the depiction of the sadness of these young women. She creates likable and interesting characters in this timeline, with both Molly and her friend Gwen having distinct voices and interesting stories.

The later timeline's protagonists were less likable and engaging for me, and those portions slowed me down a bit. Langston's writing also pivots to less emotional narrative and very straightforward style that serves to just move the characters and the story forward, rather than paint a vivid picture of a different time in American culture.

At times, I found it a bit difficult to follow all the family tree connections, and that may be because genealogy has never really been something that I've had a great interest in exploring, so the portions that talked about ancestry and DNA took a little extra focus for me. Without giving away too much, there are many twists and turns in how characters are related, and I found myself having to stop and think through some of the pieces and re-read portions to see if some connections were part of the mystery, etc.

The writing was fine, but the style wasn't anything that really stood out to me, and the book's legs really come from the story itself and the twists of the family's secrets and connections. It never gets overly descriptive or consistently emotional.

Readers who enjoy researching genealogy and ancestry will likely really enjoy this story, as will those who enjoy more recent historical fiction. I can see this appealing to readers of Lisa Wingate, in particular. It really was jarring to think how much has changed in just over 55 years. The book's plot revolves around a dark but important moment in the history of American women, and those interested in women's history and strong female characters might also really enjoy this novel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read.

After a series of bad reads ,this was a breathe of fresh air. I really enjoyed this book. The development of the story and characters were well thought out and the whole time I just wanted to keep reading, pulling at your heart strings.

It made you think about what young women had to face back in the day because something they did did not fit in with the norm of society. I wonder how different society would be today if these young women had the choice to actually keep their babies that most seemed to have wanted .

Great read. Thanks netgalley for an ARC.

This sadly seems like something that is happening in the US right now. The decisions of the female bodies is in the hands of men. This book is sad and heartbreaking but a must read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

There are a million what-ifs when thinking about our familial histories. What if my grandparents hadn't met each other when they had? What if my brother had been a girl instead? What if my mother isn't actually my biological mother? In this heartbreaking novel, Langston explores the way a DNA test disrupts an entire family's perception of themselves and one another.
In the 1960s, Molly finds herself pregnant as a teenager and is sent away to a maternity home so she didn't tarnish her family's reputation. This look into the horrible treatment she receives and what many girls faced in places like this is heart-wrenching. We root for Molly as she navigates a situation where everything is stacked against her from the moment she enters the home.
In the present day, we follow the story of Allison and Bree who take DNA tests and find out that they're much closer than best friends. Their parents are siblings who much reckon with two different shocks. One knew she was adopted and that she had been abandoned by her birth mother while another finds out that he had been adopted only as an adult.
'Once You Were Mine' illustrates the fragility and the strength of families both biological and found. I was on the edge of my seat to find out just how Molly was able to persevere through each setback and how the girls and their parents were able to cope with their new normal. Both sweet and tender while also bringing up the severe injustices young unwed mothers used to face, this book is an excellent family drama that will hook you instantly.

This is my first Elizabeth Langston book and I really enjoyed it. It was a horrendous time to be a teenage unwed mother in the 1960's. When Molly becomes pregnant after a summer romance in 1968, her embarrassed parents send her off to a maternity home. The young girls at this home experience horrendous mental and physical abuse before being forced to give up their babies for adoption. Moving forward to present day, Ancestry..com is helping many adopted children find their birth families. Allison Garrett's mom Heather was abandoned as a baby and the pain of that knowledge has prevented her from pursuing finding her birth mother. Allison volunteers as a "search angel" to help people find their lost relatives using DNA results. When Allison and her best friend Bree submit their samples to Ancestry.com, the results are shocking and could change the course of both of their family's lives. The descriptions of what went on at the maternity home are brutal, but this book is so well-written and hard to put down. I finished it in two days and can't wait to read more of Elizabeth Langston's books. Thanks to #netgalley #lakeunionpublishing and #ElizabethLangston for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So I this book was heartbreaking and emotional. This one is a definite read.

Thanks Lake Union and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else