Before We Were Yours
By Lisa Wingate
This was my book group's book for May. I read it a while ago so others in my group could read it for the discussion. The book is historical fiction, and the book goes back and forth between 1939 and 2015.
In 1939, a twelve young girl lived on a riverboat with her siblings and parents. When their mother was having a hard time delivering twins, their father took her to the hospital. While the parents were gone, the children were taken/stolen and placed up adoption by Georgia Tann. Tann ran the Tennessee Children's Home Society, an adoption agency in Memphis, Tennessee, that trafficked over five hundred children. Wealthy people would essentially buy these children and raise them as their own. Tann not only stole these children he thought came from unfit families, she also abused them greatly, leading to many children's deaths. The police and people around town profited from this "orphanage". One of the most famous people who used the Tennessee Children's Home Society was Joan Crawford, which always makes me think of Mommy Dearest, but that's for another day. Sadly, Georgia Tann never faced justice, due to her dying of ovarian cancer. There was a movie starring Mary Tyler Moore that came out in 1993 titled Stolen Babies that deals with the crimes Tann committed.
The other time period the book is based in is 2015. A woman is unhappy with where her life is going and she ends up uncovering some dark secrets from her family that might just cross paths with the Tennessee Children's Home Society.
Even though the subject matter is dark, it is so well written and I enjoyed the book greatly. The bond between sisters in the book was strong as well. I would recommend the book.
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