Before We Were Yours

by Lisa Wingate

Two timelines, one history of family separation

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Two timelines, one history of family separation

Set between Memphis in 1939 and present-day South Carolina, the novel places Rill Foss’s childhood crisis alongside the life of Avery Stafford, a federal prosecutor born into wealth. Rill and her four younger siblings are taken from their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat to a Tennessee orphanage, where she struggles to keep them together. The contrasting settings and circumstances bring family bonds, childhood vulnerability, and the legacy of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society into focus. The supplied description introduces Avery’s present-day story but does not detail how it develops.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

Readers interested in historical fiction rooted in a documented chapter of American history.
Readers who enjoy novels set across past and present timelines.
Readers drawn to stories about siblings, family separation, and efforts to stay together.

Themes

Sibling bondsFamily separationChildhood vulnerabilityHistorical institutionsThe legacy of the past

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

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, 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 facility's 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

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