Shelterwood: a story of survival, justice served and righting wrongs

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate is a dual timeline story set in Oklahoma. 1909, eleven-year-old Olive August Radley knows that her stepfather has ill intentions toward the two Choctaw girls who live with her family. When the older girl disappears, Ollie takes the younger girl and flees into the woods. Together they set out on a perilous journey to the rugged Winding Stair Mountains, trying to avoid the outlaws, treasure hunters and desperate men along the way. Eighty-one years later, Valerie Boren O’dell is a law enforcement ranger who arrives at the Horsethief Trail National Park, seeking a quiet place as she tries to balance her career and single parenthood. She quickly learns about a local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker goes missing and a long hidden burial site of three children was discovered deep in a cave. Val soon learns the tragic and deadly history of the area as she tries to uncover the truth. 

Lisa Wingate has made a name for herself as a writer of emotional and often forgotten stories in history. Shelterwood traces the story of children abandoned by the law, the conflicts over the land and its riches and the long battle to see wrongs righted and justice done. I love Lisa Wingate books and Shelterwood sounded compelling and interesting; however, it was a chore to read. It wasn’t hard to read because of the subject matter which was indeed a heavy topic but important to discuss. There was a bit of confusion of who the characters were and their relationship to the two main characters: Ollie and Val. The back and forth between timelines, which usually doesn’t bother me, took me out of the story and it was hard to readjust for the new chapter. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have other Lisa Wingate books. However, if the book interests you, I recommend giving it a try. 

Shelterwood is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Book of Lost Friends: rediscovering lost family histories

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate is a story of recovering history when time and people have long buried it. The story opens with a young girl, as she prepares to make an important speech, and her teacher who encourages her to be a voice for those lost. Rewind to Louisiana, 1875 as Hannie Gossett, 18, wakes from a vivid and recurring dream of when her family was torn apart. She lives on an old plantation which used to see grander days. She soon finds herself on a journey that takes her far from her home and on a path to a new beginning. The next chapter opens with Benedetta “Benny” Silva in Augustine, Louisiana, 1987. She is having a horrible beginning to her first day as a teacher. She tries to teach her students; but they aren’t interested in the symbolism of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Switching between Hannie in 1875 and Benny in 1987, the two timelines emerge as Hannie searches for a missing person, she begins to collect the names of lost family members for people she meets on her journey, in hopes to reunite families as well as finding her own. Benny struggles to find a way to reach her students when a chance discovering of an old family Bible and leather ledger sends Benny and her students on a history lesson that threatens to shake the status quo.

The Book of Lost Friends is inspired by the real letters from the “Lost Friends” column of the Southwestern Christian Advocate which published letters from freed slaves looking for their families. It was a piece of history that I wasn’t not aware of and was interested to read as Ms. Wingate uses the actual letters from the column. The book is essentially about remembering those who came before us as the main theme can be found in this quote: “We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name.” This theme reminded me of the second death seen in Disney’s Coco (2017). The book is very slow moving as it switches between timelines. It isn’t clear how the two are connected until about three-quarters into the story. It truly didn’t become interesting until the connection is made between the timelines and the action speeds up. It was hard to connect with the characters. I found Hannie to be the most interesting and a bit surprising as she finds herself in situations that she must learn to adapt on the fly. I found Benny to be a bit naïve and dim. She was the stereotypical first year teacher who was going to have an impact on her students. She seems at a loss when her first attempts fail miserably. Some of the conflict which I thought would boil over and cause a big “battle” fizzled and the “villains” of the story essentially would just be feared from afar. Overall, I enjoyed the book as a piece of history is used to tell the lost family history of many black families. And if readers are willing to stick with it, I think they will find that they will enjoy it too. I recommend The Book of Lost Friends.

The Book of Lost Friends

is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and audiobook

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

Before We were Yours: a excellent story about a painful past

Before We were Yours by Lisa Wingate is a tale of one woman’s determination to discover the truth behind her grandmother’s mysterious behavior. Avery Stafford is a successful federal lawyer who comes home to help with her ailing father, Senator Wells Stafford, who is up for reelection. While at political function with her dad, she is approached by an elderly woman who calls her by a different name. Avery’s heart is drawn to the elderly woman and as she seeks out information about the woman, she discovers a deeper mystery. Flashback to Tennessee, 1939, Rill Foss is the oldest child of Briny and Queenie Foss, river gypsies who live on their boat, Arcadia. Until one day when she and her four younger siblings are taken from their home and delivered to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. There Rill tells her story of abuse and lies as she realizes what is going on. Will Avery discover the truth? Is her family connected to the elderly woman? Does Rill and her siblings ever make it home?

At first, Before We were Yours was slow to start. I wondered what the point was as I read back and forth between Avery’s point of view and Rill’s. But soon the story took off and I was hook. I couldn’t put it down. I read into the wee hours of the night, eagerly waiting for the resolution. What happened to Rill and her siblings? When I read the author’s note at the end of the book, I realized the story was based on real events of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and the woman who ran it. I highly, highly recommend Before We were Yours for the great, intriguing story.

Before We were Yours

is available in hardcover and eBook