Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate: Book Review
“For the hundreds who vanished and for the thousands who didn’t. May your stories not be forgotten. For those who help today’s orphans find forever homes. May you always know the value of your work and your love.”
I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, and have been waiting for the right time to read it. Hearing stories of kids who overcome impossible circumstances is something that guts me to the core, so I have to be in the right space to tackle it.
The story of Rill, her siblings, the shanty boat, the river-life, and the Tennesee Children’s Home Society is a story that will stay with you, will make you think about people, children, and what strength can be drawn from the most horrific of circumstances.
“But the love of sisters needs no words. It does not depend on memories, or mementos, or proof. It runs as deep as a heartbeat. It is as ever present as a pulse.”
The Foss children are taken from a home they love and tossed into an orphanage, told that they were being taken to see their momma and daddy. Rill, the oldest, finds herself taking on a burden no 12-year-old should have to endure. She feels she is responsible for her siblings, for keeping them together, for their lives, and livelihood. There are so many times your heart just breaks for her, for these kids, as they try to make sense of the torture, the punishments, the breaking up of their family.
“I want a pain that has a beginning and an end, not one that goes on forever and cuts all the way to the bone.”
This dual time-line story hits on two emotional nerves. The disgrace of what unthinkable things actually happened to children, in our lifetime, in our country, right behind the gates of a home that people believed to be helping. And the pain of not being able to help. The Tennessee Children’s Society took advantage of those most unlikely to help themselves. They sought out a profit from stealing children and selling them to the highest bidder, and the children paid the price.
I believe that this book should be mandatory reading. We all need our eye’s opened to what is happening outside of our bubbles, outside of our comforts.
A few of my favorite quotes:
“I drop her on the cot and turn away and grab my hair and pull until it hurts. I want to pull all of it out. Every single piece. I want a pain I understand instead of the one I don’t. I want a pain that has a beginning and an end, not one that goes on forever and cuts all the way to the bone.”
“I shush my mind, because your mind can ruin you if you let it.”
“I learned that you need not be born into a family to be loved by one.”
“One of the best things a father can do for his daughter is let her know that she has met his expectations. My father did that for me, and no amount of effort on my part can fully repay the debt. I’d do anything for him, and for my mother. Now”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Book 28 of 30 for my #2020goodreadschallenge. I wish I had read it sooner. ❤️
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read it for Yourself:
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If you would like more information on the author, Lisa Wingate, you can visit her site here: Lisa Wingate
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