Before We Were Yours, Wingate, Lisa

For readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale comes a thought-provoking and] complex tale about two families, two generations apart . . . based on a notorious true-life scandal.*

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their familys 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 Childrens 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 facilitys 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 fianc , 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 familys long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of Americas 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 Wingates 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.

*Library Journal

Publishers Weeklys #3 Longest-Running Bestseller of 2017 - Winner of the Southern Book Prize - If All Arkansas Read the Same Book Selection

A story] of a family lost and found . . . a poignant, engrossing tale about sibling love and the toll of secrets.--People