Candace's Reviews > Before We Were Yours

'Before We Were Yours' is a highly emotional and moving fictional story, inspired by true events. Through the telling of this story, Lisa Wingate sheds light on the despicable real life actions of Georgia Tann, a woman that ran a black market child trafficking ring masked as a legitimate adoption agency for decades in Tennessee. She catered to the rich and famous, providing largely blond-haired and light-eyed children to those that could afford to pay her outrageous price. She made millions off of the sale of children, who were often kidnapped.

This book spans generations, alternating between present-day and the past. The "past" story is narrated by the oldest Foss sibling, Rill (aka May). Avery Stafford, a former federal prosecutor and the daughter of a prominent Senator, tells the present-day story. Gradually, the two storylines intersect and the connection comes to light.

The fictional story of the five Foss children parallels the real life experiences of hundreds of victims of Georgia Tann's illegal adoption agency, the Tennessee Children's Home Society. The children are stolen from their family's riverboat one night in 1939. Their parents have to go to the hospital due to complications with their mother's pregnancy and childbirth. Left alone, the children are taken by corrupt police officers working for the notorious child trafficker.

Immediately, the children are thrust into a grim situation. They experience abuse and cruelty at the hands of the people running the "orphanage". Tragedy and loss become all that they know as they are stripped of their former identities. Separated, renamed and adopted out, their lives are forever changed.

Avery Stafford first meets May when she is visiting a nursing home to support her father's political campaign. There is something about the elderly lady that calls to her. Later, when she is contacted by the nursing home administrator to say that May took her bracelet, she goes against the administrator's instructions and decides to visit with the lady personally. Their first meeting sets a series of events in motion.

Avery begins digging into the past. She is determined to uncover the connection between her grandmother, who suffers from dementia, and the mysterious woman that she met at the nursing home. In her brief moments of lucidity, her grandmother's appears to light up with recognition when she mentions May. However, she is less than forthcoming. Avery is left to follow the cryptic clues if she wants to unearth her grandmother's secrets, knowing it may be the downfall of her highly public family.

This is the type of story that raises awareness and will leave you feeling outraged. It was emotional, inspiring and heartfelt. I was completely lost in the plight of the Foss children, while I was heartbroken by the absolute injustice of it all.

Ms. Wingate did a beautiful job of merging fact and fiction. The writing was flawless and the story was well-crafted. My heart went out to the Foss children, as I lost myself in their story.

Like so many others, I was completely unaware of the existence of this illegal adoption agency and the wide-spread corruption that allowed these child traffickers to prosper for so many years. This book prompted me to educate myself on the topic and I was appalled by what I found.

This was a tragic, and often depressing, story. However, I am so glad that I read it. It is an important story and one that needed to be told. It definitely isn't a rainbows and unicorns type of story, but it will move you and leave a lasting impression.

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