Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate

nTHE BLOCKBUSTER HIT--Over two million copies sold A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller nLook for Lisa Wingate's powerful new historical novel, The Book of Lost Friends, available now n nPoignant, engrossing.--People - Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation's history and weaves a tale of enduring power.--Paula McLain n nMemphis, 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 to their parents--but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility's cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty. n n Aiken, South Carolina, present day.

Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fianc , and a lavish wedding on the horizon. 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. n n Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals--in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country--Lisa Wingate's riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

n nPublishers Weekly's #3 Longest-Running Bestseller of 2017 - Winner of the Southern Book Prize - If All Arkansas Read the Same Book Selection n nThis edition includes a new essay by the author about shantyboat life.n