Before and After: a nice companion to Before We Were Yours

Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society by Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate is a follow-up to Ms. Wingate’s bestselling book, Before We were Yours which I reviewed two years ago (a link for that review is posted below). Ms. Christie, a journalist, and Ms. Wingate present the real stories of individuals who were stolen from their parents, from their homes and placed in illegal adoptions. As well as documented the outpouring of support for Before We Were Yours as many do not know these painful events which occurred in Memphis, Tennessee from roughly 1923 to 1950 when the scandal broke. Each story was heartbreaking as many of the victims were torn between being angry that they were taken from their families and loving the families they grew up in. Before and After helps put the physical names and faces to the events readers see in Before We Were Yours.

Some of the stories were harder to read then others. Some stories the children were stolen from very loving homes and placed in not so loving homes. Stories of uneducated, but loving parents being tricked into signing away their children. Even the adopted parents were doped by Ms. Tann as there are many stories of Jewish parents asking, and being told they were getting, a Jewish baby, only to find out years later, their baby isn’t Jewish. There was one part of the story I had to laugh, and it isn’t related to the victim’s stories. Ms. Christie was recounting a story that her older brother helped name her that she quipped “Who lets a 7-year-old name their child?” Well, my husband and I let our 6-year-old have a say in the names that were considered for our youngest daughter. It was a name we ultimately chose too. If you have read Before We were Yours, I highly recommend reading Before and After. If you haven’t read Before We were Yours, I highly recommend reading it and following up with Before and After.

Before and After

is available in hardcover and eBook

My review of Before We Were Yours

https://observationsfromasimplelife.blogspot.com/2017/07/before-we-were-yours-excellent-story.html