Adoptees whose lives were altered by Georgia Tann's unregulated system of adoptions-for-profit under the Tennessee Childrens Home Society gathered last June in Memphis to share their truth. . Adoptees whose lives were altered by Georgia Tann's unregulated system of adoptions-for-profit under the Tennessee Childrens Home Society gathered last June in Memphis to share their truth. "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate is just a marvelous book, which pulls you into it's story immediately and doesn't let you go until you've finished it! Having spent three months on the New York Time’s Bestseller List, Lisa Wingate’s latest book, ‘Before We Were Yours’, seems to have really struck a chord with people.It’s easy to see why, this compelling read delves into one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals – an unthinkable act that led to heartbreaking consequences. . Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country. . Memphis, 1939. This 50-page guide for “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 26 chapters, as well as several more in-depth sections of expert-written literary analysis. 88 likes. . Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate About the Book Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for readers of ORPHAN TRAIN and THE NIGHTINGALE. This fictional account of a family describes the horrific Tennessee Children’s Home Society operated by Georgia Tann in Memphis, Tennessee, from the 1920s to 1950. Lisa tells their story writing parallel tales --- one set in 1939 and one in the present day. This story about children taken from their parents through kidnapping or subterfuge and then placed for adoption, for a price, clearly pours out of Wingate’s heart. “Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate’s heart-racing tale of a family ripped apart by the Tennessee Children’s Home Society scandal, rang so true I couldn’t sleep until I knew their fate. The real-life story behind Before We Were Yours. June 2017 Lisa Wingate’s BEFORE WE WERE YOURS is historical fiction based on a real-life scandal. With DNA testing turning up skeletons in the closet left and right, I was interested to read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Before We Were Yours begins in Memphis in 1939. A 2017 New York Times bestseller, Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours is a haunting and compelling work of historical fiction told in polyvocal form with two alternating principle voices narrating a story of complex family history. Part history, part horror, part inspiration, the story Before We Were Yours explores the true-life crimes of the Memphis Tennesse Children's Home Society whose unregulated adoption practices tore families apart. It is almost a cliché to say a book is ‘lovingly written’ but that phrase applies clearly to Lisa Wingate’s latest novel, Before We Were Yours. Memphis, 1939. It is almost a cliché to say a book is ’lovingly written’ but that phrase applies clearly to Lisa Wingate’s latest novel, Before We Were Yours. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. . This story about children taken from their parents through kidnapping or subterfuge and then placed for adoption, for a … I am so pleased I did buy "Before We Were Yours" as it is an engrossing story and an eye opener about Georgia Tann and the Tennesee Children's Home Society in the 1930s time frame. Before We Were Yours. Before We Were Yours. June 8, 2017 – 2:44 PM ... they most likely thought were true orphans. Wingate Media LLC, 2017. The book tells the story of two families — the wealthy, connected Staffords and the dirt-poor “river gypsy” Fosses. ― Lisa Wingate, Before We Were Yours. It is almost a cliché to say a book is ‘lovingly written’ but that phrase applies clearly to Lisa Wingate’s latest novel, Before We Were Yours. The story is told from two points of view, one from the past, and one from the present.