Before We Were Yours: A Novel

Lisa Wingate

Jun 2017 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber

About this audiobook

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 fiancé, 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 family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s 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 Wingate’s 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.

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

Ratings and reviews

Can't finish this ridiculous collection of cliches. Kept hoping it might get better - free concept is interesting, but the execution is awful. Don't waste time on it.

Loved it! I laughed & cried many times during the book. The person(s) reading the book did a great job and their voice was not nails on chalkboard like many others are. Based on true events of the Tennessee Children's Society, but the story itself is fiction. Hard to believe people can be so cruel & heartless.

This is a beautiful rendition of the NYT blockbuster, Before We Were Yours. There are two narrators and they read so thoughtfully that it sometimes seems like acting rather than reading. They make you feel that you are right there, experiencing along with the characters. Wingate' latest novel has a modern day Avery discovering some past connections between her family and the infamous Georgia Tann, who operated an adoption for profit scheme in Memphis, TN for over two decades. It's heart-wrenching to experience what these 5 siblings lived through, but generates awareness of one arm of child trafficking, something that still exists today. As always, Wingate leaves you in a better place with a happy ending and more understanding of issues her characters face. Whether you've read the book or not, you'll love listening to this audio.

About the author

Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the bestselling author of more than twenty novels. 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. Wingate lives in the Ouachita Mountains of southwest Arkansas.