A review by kbranfield
Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society by Judy Christie, Lisa Wingate
5.0
Before & After by Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate is the non-fiction follow-up novel to Ms. Wingate's blockbuster bestseller, Before We Were Yours (read my review HERE).
This emotionally compelling book documents the stories of real life adoptees whose adoptions were part of Georgia Tann's black-market adoptions through the Tennessee Children's Home Society (TCHS). Following the release of Before We Were Yours in 2017, many of the adoptees were compelled to shared their stories after reading the heartrending novel. Several people reached out to Ms. Wingate to tell her of their deeply personal connection to the Georgia Tann scandal. At the suggestion of one of the last babies adopted through the TCHS, a reunion of adoptees was set in motion.
After hearing the adoptees' stories, Ms. Wingate teamed up with Ms. Christie to ensure their histories would be told. Although their identities have been protected, through in-depth interviews by Ms. Christie, their heartrending accounts have been now memorialized in this poignant and captivating book. While some of the children grew up in happy homes, many of them struggled with feelings of loss and abandonment by their birth mothers. Their respective searches for their birth families has been an long and arduous journey that, in some cases, culminated with happy reunions with siblings and extended family members.
Before & After is a bittersweet book that is heartbreaking yet also uplifting. While the narrative focuses mainly on the adoptees, the story also touches on the manner in which Georgia Tann stole children from their families in order to sell them to adoptive families. Through pictures and poignant narratives from the adopted children, Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate have given a voice to the many victims of a horrifying crime that spanned over 25 years. Keep tissues handy because it is impossible not to shed tears while reading this deeply affecting book. HIGHLY recommend.
This emotionally compelling book documents the stories of real life adoptees whose adoptions were part of Georgia Tann's black-market adoptions through the Tennessee Children's Home Society (TCHS). Following the release of Before We Were Yours in 2017, many of the adoptees were compelled to shared their stories after reading the heartrending novel. Several people reached out to Ms. Wingate to tell her of their deeply personal connection to the Georgia Tann scandal. At the suggestion of one of the last babies adopted through the TCHS, a reunion of adoptees was set in motion.
After hearing the adoptees' stories, Ms. Wingate teamed up with Ms. Christie to ensure their histories would be told. Although their identities have been protected, through in-depth interviews by Ms. Christie, their heartrending accounts have been now memorialized in this poignant and captivating book. While some of the children grew up in happy homes, many of them struggled with feelings of loss and abandonment by their birth mothers. Their respective searches for their birth families has been an long and arduous journey that, in some cases, culminated with happy reunions with siblings and extended family members.
Before & After is a bittersweet book that is heartbreaking yet also uplifting. While the narrative focuses mainly on the adoptees, the story also touches on the manner in which Georgia Tann stole children from their families in order to sell them to adoptive families. Through pictures and poignant narratives from the adopted children, Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate have given a voice to the many victims of a horrifying crime that spanned over 25 years. Keep tissues handy because it is impossible not to shed tears while reading this deeply affecting book. HIGHLY recommend.