Before We Were Yours: The heartbreaking novel that has sold over one million copies
Nov 2017 · Hachette UK
4.6star
34 reviewsreport
Ebook
240
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About this ebook
**The No.1 New York Times, million-copy bestseller**
Memphis, Tennessee, 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 home - but they quickly realize the dark truth...
Aiken, South Carolina, present day
Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. 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, Before We Were Yours is a riveting, wrenching and ultimately uplifting global bestseller. Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.
'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain
'Such a powerful, emotional story' 5* reader review
'It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel' Huffington Post
'What a great book, you just can't put it down' 5* reader review
Memphis, Tennessee, 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 home - but they quickly realize the dark truth...
Aiken, South Carolina, present day
Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. 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, Before We Were Yours is a riveting, wrenching and ultimately uplifting global bestseller. Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.
'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain
'Such a powerful, emotional story' 5* reader review
'It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel' Huffington Post
'What a great book, you just can't put it down' 5* reader review
Ratings and reviews
4.6
34 reviews
sugandha Gupta
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October 9, 2020
🌠 Its a story of Rill Foss becoming May Weathers. In present day when Avery stafford visits an old age home 🏡 and meets one of their recent additions to the house May crandall a series of event unfold leading to Avery discovering her grandmother's 👵 secret. The author has cleverly written the story in rotating POV where one narration is present day Avery and another is 1939 Rill foss. This is a sad, unfortunate, deeply moving story of a family which lost its everything in a day. The prose is simple and the flow of the events is smooth. The story holds you till the very end. You want to know what happens next to the beautiful Foss children who once were a beautiful family only to be torn and separated and their lives altered by the greedy self motivated actions with a bittersweet ending. Reading it made me think deep 🤔. What motivated people to abduct, or tear away kids from their real parents? Did they ever imagine how would they feel if the same was to happen to them?
3 people found this review helpful
Jennie Mc Guirk
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September 29, 2018
Good read, one to remember
7 people found this review helpful
Nora Kinsella
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July 6, 2018
A most enjoyable thought provoking read
9 people found this review helpful
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.
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