Why did I love this book?
A compelling read that took me by the collar and plunged me back in time to 1939 Memphis. I found the true, yet terribly disturbing events of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society Orphanage to be both eye-opening and immersive. My heart was warmed by the determination of the Foss children to find their way home, despite the years it took to get there. Before We Were Yours is a story that has never left me as it straddles the tightrope of humanity, at its worst and also at its best, with a deft hand that is as haunting as it is emotional. Keep the tissues handy as I definitely cried my way through this read.
9 authors picked Before We Were Yours as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT—Over two million copies sold! A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller
“Poignant, engrossing.”—People • “Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation’s history and weaves a tale of enduring power.”—Paula McLain
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,…