It's time again
to pick and choose the books for my 2019 reading challenge but
before I do that post, I'd like to finish up with some reviews of
additional books that were read in 2018.
Lisa Wingate's
Before We Were Yours, is
one of those books. Wingate's tale is based on the true story of the
Tennessee Children's Home (for orphans) during the depression and
into the 1950's and how children were actually stolen from their
(often poor) parents and sold as orphans to people who could afford
the outrageous prices.
I'm trying to
simplify and reduce the amount of books that I have on my shelves but
after reading a preview of Before We Were Yours, I had to buy
it when I saw it in the bookstore. It's really good, even compelling,
and brings to light the astonishing practice of selling children as
orphans to families that could afford to “buy” one and for
various reasons did not have a child of their own. The author does
this by using a fictional family to tell the story of very real
things that actually happened to the children who ended up in the
Tennessee Children's Home. My heart breaks for the children who were
harmed or killed by these outrageous practices. Georgia Tann seems to
be a very evil woman who profited from and engaged in or allowed
abuse of these children as a result of them being stolen from their
homes and families, knowing that they were not really orphans.
The author has
a story telling gift and richly describes the circumstances of the
characters. Rill Foss, the main character, is a 12 year old girl, she
is tasked with trying to keep the family together, and you see the
story unfold from her perspective. It pulls your heartstrings but has
an uplifting ending. You will want to stay up late to keep reading
it.
