Before We Were Yours

gingertop

Wed, Nov 21 2018, 2:59 pm

In a different thread I mentioned that while I like secular reading material, I find a lot of it disturbing.

I just read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate and it was a beautiful read. The story is based on the awful crimes of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. There is a contemporary love story, which is very sweet and very clean.
And there is a heartbreaking back story of river gypsy children who were kidnapped from their parents and their boat shanty by the agents of Georgia Tann.

The story is part mystery as the main character tries to uncover a long forgotten past. It's also a love story. It's a story of sisters finding each other. It's a terrible reminder of the cruelties that happened even in the land of the free.
I really enjoyed the book. It's sad but compelling.

Amarante

Wed, Nov 21 2018, 3:16 pm

I enjoyed this book as well when I read it. Very moving - very well written and such a sad story in terms of it actually occurring

Busymom104

Wed, Nov 21 2018, 3:23 pm

I also enjoyed this book and I highly reccomend it. But I found it pretty disturbing that the story is based on true events. Pretty crazy..

gingertop

Wed, Nov 21 2018, 4:31 pm

Busymom104 wrote:

I also enjoyed this book and I highly reccomend it. But I found it pretty disturbing that the story is based on true events. Pretty crazy..

It's awful and enraging and the offenders got away with frickin bloody murder Exploding anger

At least in the novel there is some closure so the story is not just unrelenting sadness.

monseymom25

Wed, Nov 21 2018, 4:53 pm

I loved it too. I listened to it as an audible book. It stayed with me even after I finished. There was some closure....but not for poor Camelia....those crimes were so horrible

southernbubby

Wed, Nov 21 2018, 5:33 pm

gingertop wrote:

It's awful and enraging and the offenders got away with frickin bloody murder Exploding anger

At least in the novel there is some closure so the story is not just unrelenting sadness.

There was an advocacy group who got Tennessee to open adoption records and some families were reunited decades after these babies were stolen. Many of the children who were stolen from their families were passively killed because they had no monetary value on the adoption market.

The evil Georgia Tann and her judge sidekick, died without ever being prosecuted.