Before We Were Yours
by Lisa Wingate
This tale is based on actual events at the Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society in 1939 where Georgia Tann collected babies and sold them to adoptive parents. Sometimes she had police round them up from the streets. Other times she scammed unsuspecting parents when the groggy mothers of newborns were asked to sign papers which in fact turned the babies over to the state.
In this story, Rill (later renamed May), is 12 years old and given responsibility for her siblings when her mother has to go to the hospital for a difficult delivery. Scary men show up to their shanty boat telling the children lies and forcing them to go to the children’s home where as “swamp rats” they were treated despicably.
This is a dual timeline book, and the protagonist in the present time is Avery, a lawyer from the prominent Stafford political family in South Carolina. She is being groomed to take over her father’s political office if he succumbs to cancer.
In a chance meeting, May takes Avery’s bracelet, a dragonfly bracelet that is a family heirloom given to Avery by her Grandma Judy. In recovering the jewelry, Avery discovers a mysterious connection. Despite Judy’s gradually succumbing to Alzheimer’s, Avery pursues the relationship between the two women.
Before We Were Yours reveals a very sad series of events in U.S. history. Georgia Tann was a ruthless woman who took advantage of poor families during the Depression as well as families hurting from childlessness. The book is complex but Lisa Wingate tells the story with compassion. She researched her topic well and created a fictional tale that is substantiated by reported events and melds the facts into a compelling story.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Notes: Random House has an online book club kit that has resources that any reader would find beneficial, whether reading the book individually or with a group.
Publication: 2017—Ballentine
Memorable Lines:
She stops short of repeating the woman’s naughty words. Camellia’s eaten enough soap to clean up the inside of a whale in her ten years. She’s practically been raised on it. It’s a wonder bubbles don’t pour out her ears.
There’s no denying that Magnolia Manor is more upscale than the nursing home May Crandall lives in, but both places face the same underlying challenge—how to provide dignity, care, and comfort as life turns difficult corners.
“A woman’s past need not predict her future. She can dance to new music if she chooses. Her own music. To hear the tune, she must only stop talking. To herself, I mean. We’re always trying to persuade ourselves of things.”
education pathways 
What a captivating story! Memorable lines is a very insightful way to share the creativity of the writing.
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Thanks, David. Sharing the memorable is a fun way for me to share the author’s writing style and give a sneak peek into the book.
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How terrible! This is so tragic, I can’t imagine!
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This is the kind of thing that I wish were not true!
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This book! I don’t want to say I loved what happened, but the book is winderful
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Yes, Lisa Wingate does a great job with a sad part of history.
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What a story
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This book will tug at my heart! Great review Linda.
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I agree. So sad. Also, my roots are in Tennessee so I hate that anything so horrible could happen in my home state.
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I have no doubt Lisa Wingate handles this story well. I have enjoyed her writing in other books, but haven’t read this one. It sounds like an emotional read.
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It is. I didn’t need a tissue, but I did feel strongly for the injustice done to these families.
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Wasn’t this such a sad book Linda. To think that these things happened and government officials were behind it. I read her companion Non-Fiction book where she actually met with some of these children, now adults and it made it even more real. Excellent review. Linda.
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Two of the ladies in my book club read that book too. My impression is that the fictional children in Before We Were Yours were treated better than many of the children who told their own story. That is so sad. When you read historical fiction, however, do you want to hear the most horrible things in detail? It sounds like a book I should read just to round out my knowledge.
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I liked seeing that some of these children have grown up and although there is still sadness, they have been able to reunite with siblings and go on to live productive lives.
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