Before We Were Yours

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The children were first taken to a kind of halfway house where they were starved, beaten and even molested.

Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Reviewers' Choice Award. The Foss children and the Arcadia were formed from the dust of imagination and the muddy waters of the Mississippi River. They are taken to a children’s home, but before they were 'adopted' out, they endured cruel conditions and abuse. I put these phrases in quotes because the character in question, Avery, has no passion, no feelings for either men, and the idea of her being in love with anyone is frankly laughable. Alternating between the perspectives of privileged and successful Avery Stafford in the present, and twelve-year-old Rill Floss in depression-era Memphis, a story emerges linking Avery's grandmother to Rill and her four siblings, who were stolen from their riverboat home and their two loving parents.Blonde children were particularly valuable as they were more easily adopted, bringing the larger sums of money to it's notorious founder. Sometime books rated high - are Goodreads Choice Winners - really ‘are’ heartbreaking- beautiful- emotional - important - historical - powerful - eye opening - educational - ( based on real life scandals) - wonderful and compelling. It may have taken a lifetime, but the truth has a way of freeing itself, exposing crimes and scandal, but it also brought out an incredible family saga that is both inspirational and heartwarming. They are left at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage and are at the mercy of the branch operator, Georgina Tann.

The book provoked good discussions about adoption, how sections of our society, even today, are devalued and ignored eg grooming, and how influential people can escape the law eg high profile politicians, entertainers and religious leaders etc. All in all, the author did a fine job with this book and bringing to light another little known injustice.the complete worthlessness of children's lives in the past, the attitudes in the past towards children (that they are props, less than human, like animals, slaves, toys, etc. Avery Stafford, a former federal prosecutor and the daughter of a prominent Senator, tells the present-day story. Five siblings snatched /kidnapped from their river boat while their father transports their mother to the hospital on shore for the difficult birth of twins is a story that is immediately gripping. This story is heartfelt and genuine, especially as Wingate explores the idea of home and family from a youngster's point of view.