This New York Times Bestseller is a historical fiction novel based on the Tennessee Children’s Home Society operated by Georgia Tann from the 1920s to the 1950s in Memphis. “Before We Were Yours” tells the story of Rill Foss and her siblings who were stolen from their parents and adopted out to other families.
While the book is fiction, the characters and the events that take place throughout are based on the stories of survivors of Tennessee Children’s Home Society.
While many of the records from the children’s home were destroyed or lost, it is estimated that Tann stole more than 5,000 children who were then adopted across the country.
In “Before We Were Yours,” readers follow Rill Foss from her life on a river boat with her large family, before being taken by authorities to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. There, the siblings experience abuse and neglect before ultimately being separated and adopted by different families.
Similar to many poor families and children of that era, Rill lacked the ability to locate her missing siblings, living with the guilt often associated with oldest, parentified children. The story is woven together with modern-day character Avery Stafford, whose position in a wealthy family seems to be well-secured before learning of a secret adoption, which were also common for that era.
Rill and Avery cross paths and learn that their stories are deeply intertwined with each other and the dark history of adoptions at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. This fictional book offers an inside look at what many children and families most likely experienced at the treacherous hands of Georgia Tann. The author does a good job exposing some of the feelings and difficulties children and families often experienced in this dark period.
“Before We Were Yours” is definitely a good read. In 2019, author Lisa Wingate released a follow-up book co-written with Judy Christie, “Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society,” which is a nonfiction companion to Wingate’s novel.
— Reviewed by Kim Phagan-Hansel
“Before We Were Yours” By Lisa Wingate Pages: 352; List Price: $30 Random House, 2017
ISBN: 9780425284704