This is one of my favorite novels of all time, but also the most heartbreaking. Inspired by true events, Before We Were Yours takes us on a rollercoaster ride through one of the most criminal adoption scandals in American history.
For more than 20 years, Georgia Tann was director of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, a black market baby mill disguised as a legitimate orphanage. During her tenure, she arranged for the kidnapping of approximately 5,000 poor children. The children were renamed and then sold out to prominent, wealthy, and sometimes famous clients (Dick Powell, Lana Turner and Joan Crawford to name a few). Tann’s crimes made her a millionaire, but forever destroyed thousands of families.
Wingate seamlessly intertwines two fictional families into real-life events surrounding the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. In 1939, the Foss family lived an unconventional but happy life on their shanty boat. When their mother went into labor with twins, the parents rushed to the hospital. Rill, a responsible 12 year old and the oldest of their five children, took care of her siblings during this time. That is, until corrupt police officers showed up at the door, forcefully seized the children and quickly brought them to the “orphanage”. Under the complete control of a merciless director, the Foss children lost their identities and lived in constant fear of separation, all while enduring neglect, abuse, malnourishment, molestation, and an unthinkable tragic loss. As they eventually lost everything they ever knew and were placed with new families, they had to face the realization that their futures were no longer their own, and nothing would ever be the same again.
Fast forward to present day. Avery Stafford comes from a wealthy, political family and has a successful career. Her grandmother, Judy, suffers from dementia and her father, a senator, is diagnosed with cancer. Avery travels back home to assist her family. When she makes a political appearance at a nursing home, she meets May, an intriguing elderly patient who mistakenly thinks Avery is her long lost sister. When Avery later finds a mysterious photograph in May’s room, she begins to investigate and discovers a long kept secret that could potentially destroy their political family forever.
Lisa Wingate did an excellent job of drawing on so many emotions while presenting one of the most shameful crimes ever committed against American families. One painful image I cannot get out of my mind is that of a father coming to the orphanage to get back his son, Lonnie, only to be told that the boy had been adopted out. The devastated man fell to his knees and sobbed on the porch. He was then picked up and put back in his truck, where he sat all day looking for his son, who was long gone. He would never see Lonnie again, and there was nothing he could do.
This novel is educational and thought-provoking on so many levels. The deeply interwoven themes include crime, politics, family, the abuse and exploitation of children, greed, child murder, and abuse of power. We are reminded of the horrific results from combining power and authority with corruption and greed. Georgia Tann had enormous power. The poor had no recourse. They were deemed “unfit” due to their social standing and the political pull Tann had with judges. The results were devastating. We are left to wonder how anybody could get away with this, yet throughout history evil power has allowed for so much to happen. Still, when it happens in America and children are involved, it hits even closer to home. As a parent, this novel absolutely tore my heart out. I did some research and learned some of the affected families had successfully reunited decades later, but so many others went to their graves never knowing what happened to their children or siblings. Years later, Georgia Tann’s crimes finally caught up with her, but she died of cancer before ever even going to trial.
Before We Were Yours is a gripping page turner that you will not be able to put down, nor will you forget about it after you are done. You will fall in love with the Foss children, who were forever shaped by their history, yet somehow found the strength to survive. Poignant and well written, I loved reading Before We Were Yours and highly recommend this novel.
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“For the hundreds who vanished and for the thousands who didn’t. May your stories not be forgotten. For those who help today’s orphans find forever homes. May you always know the value of your work and your love.”
Lisa Wingate, Before We Were Yours,