{
    "id": 319733,
    "slug": "before-we-were-yours-lisa-wingate",
    "nstc": null,
    "title": "Before we were yours",
    "subtitle": null,
    "collection_title": null,
    "collection_part_number": null,
    "annotation": null,
    "description": "<p><strong><em>NEW YORK TIMES</em> BESTSELLER &bull; For readers of <em>Orphan Train </em>and <em>The Nightingale </em>comes a &ldquo;thought-provoking [and] complex tale about two families, two generations apart . . . based on a notorious true-life scandal.&rdquo;*</strong><br /><br />Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family&rsquo;s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge&mdash;until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children&rsquo;s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents&mdash;but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility&rsquo;s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.<br /><br /> 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&eacute;, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis,&nbsp;a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family&rsquo;s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.<br /><br /> Based on one of America&rsquo;s most notorious real-life scandals&mdash;in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country&mdash;Lisa Wingate&rsquo;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.<br /><br />*<em>Library Journal</em><br /><br /><br /><strong>Praise for <em>Before We Were Yours</em></strong><br /><br />&ldquo;A [story] of a family lost and found . . . a poignant, engrossing tale about sibling love and the toll of secrets.&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong>&mdash;<em>People</em></strong><br /><br />&ldquo;Sure to be one of the most compelling books you pick up this year. . . . Wingate is a master-storyteller, and you&rsquo;ll find yourself pulled along as she reveals the wake of terror and heartache that is Georgia Tann&rsquo;s legacy.&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong>&mdash;</strong><em><strong>Parade</strong><br /></em><br />&ldquo;One of the year&rsquo;s best books . . . It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel.&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong>&mdash;<em>The Huffington Post</em></strong><br /><br />&ldquo;Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation&rsquo;s history and weaves a tale of enduring power.&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong>&mdash;Paula McLain, <em>New York Times </em>bestselling author of <em>Circling the Sun</em></strong></p>",
    "imprint": null,
    "language_code": "eng",
    "original_language_code": null,
    "page_count": 342,
    "duration_seconds": null,
    "publication_date_first": "2017-06-06",
    "publication_date_latest": "2017-06-06",
    "cover_url": null,
    "editions": [
        {
            "isbn": "9780425284681",
            "product_form": "BB"
        }
    ],
    "ratings_count": 0,
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    "reading_status_read_count": 0,
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    "reading_status_want_to_read_count": 0,
    "rating_average": null,
    "ratings_distribution": {
        "1": 0,
        "2": 0,
        "3": 0,
        "4": 0,
        "5": 0
    },
    "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:18:02+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2025-10-30T00:25:19+00:00",
    "publisher": {
        "id": 4199,
        "slug": "ballantine",
        "name": "Ballantine",
        "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:08:55+00:00",
        "updated_at": "2025-09-19T15:10:07+00:00"
    },
    "contributors": [
        {
            "id": 190946,
            "slug": "lisa-wingate-2",
            "key_names": "Wingate",
            "names_before_key": "Lisa",
            "prefix_to_key": null,
            "contributor_role": "A01",
            "readable_contributor_role": "Author"
        }
    ],
    "genres": [],
    "subjects": [
        {
            "scheme_identifier": "32",
            "scheme_version": null,
            "main_subject": false,
            "subject_code": "300",
            "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:18:02+00:00",
            "updated_at": "2025-09-19T13:18:02+00:00"
        }
    ],
    "campaigns": []
}