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Before We Were Yours
A Novel
605 pages
A sweeping, dual-timeline journey that unearths a devastating historical injustice and celebrates the unbreakable bonds of family.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like slowly unearthing a buried family heirloom, brushing away the dirt to reveal something both beautiful and deeply tragic. The narrative moves at a steady, engrossing pace, seamlessly weaving between a sun-drenched, privileged present and a harrowing, atmospheric past along the Mississippi River. The mood is steeped in a profound sense of loss and injustice, yet it is continually pierced by rays of fierce resilience and sibling devotion. The prose is accessible but richly evocative, grounding the reader in the sensory details of shantyboat life and the sterile dread of a corrupt orphanage. It is a deeply emotional, tear-jerking experience designed for readers who devour historical fiction that shines a light on forgotten dark chapters of history while ultimately delivering a cathartic, hopeful resolution about the enduring power of love and memory.
- Mood
- heartbreaking
- atmospheric
- tense
- hopeful
- Tone
- earnest
- empathetic
- poignant
- suspenseful
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- generational trauma · family secrets · resilience of children · historical injustice · the meaning of family
- The writing
- Evocative and accessible, blending rich historical detail with emotionally resonant, character-driven narration.
- The arc
- Moves from devastating loss and harrowing uncertainty to a hard-won sense of closure, healing, and redemption.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sweeping, dual-timeline historical fiction centered on family secrets, resilient women, and uncovering forgotten historical injustices.
Content notes
- child abuse
- kidnapping
- child loss
- institutional abuse
- death of a parent
About the book
In this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice. 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 the dark truth. 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 to 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 -- Lisa 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. - Jacket flap.
Description from Open Library.
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