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Amy Bishop-Ryan
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Random House. (2019)
Memphis, Tennessee, 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, the Foss children are wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. 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.
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 tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
Eileen Burk
The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
Knopf 1964
In our present climate of race discovery, this 1965 Pulitzer Prize winner provides a view of race and rage over seven generations, as experienced by the Howland dynasty. Set in 1964, rural Alabama, the Howland’s occupied their plantation while building a community around themselves. Abigal Howland narrates the family lineage as they co-existed with black farm hands and house staff, amongst a racist community resistant to change. This book showcases history from everyday life to politics with its drama and intrigue.
I cannot imagine the uproar this book created when published in 1964. And I am saddened by the lack of progress made in race relations over the past 58 years. While disappointed in humanity, I must acknowledge the persistence and fortitude of the Howland family, whose shield to adversity was respect and love.
Eileen Burk
The Girl with the Louding Voice: A Novel by Abi Dare’
Dutton (2020)
This is a heart-felt coming of age tale of a 14-year-old girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village. Although fictional, it takes place in current times and sheds light on life’s reality in Nigeria. Adunni is born into poverty with cultural confines. She tolerates hardships and abuse, including an arranged marriage and domestic trafficking, but her heart is always set on getting an education and developing a “louding voice” to make a difference for other girls. Adunni’s strong, positive spirit is an inspiration for all females: those locked in poverty and those privileged who hold the keys to freedom.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Random House. (2019)
Memphis, Tennessee, 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, the Foss children are wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. 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.
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 tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
Eileen Burk
The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
Knopf 1964
In our present climate of race discovery, this 1965 Pulitzer Prize winner provides a view of race and rage over seven generations, as experienced by the Howland dynasty. Set in 1964, rural Alabama, the Howland’s occupied their plantation while building a community around themselves. Abigal Howland narrates the family lineage as they co-existed with black farm hands and house staff, amongst a racist community resistant to change. This book showcases history from everyday life to politics with its drama and intrigue.
I cannot imagine the uproar this book created when published in 1964. And I am saddened by the lack of progress made in race relations over the past 58 years. While disappointed in humanity, I must acknowledge the persistence and fortitude of the Howland family, whose shield to adversity was respect and love.
Eileen Burk
The Girl with the Louding Voice: A Novel by Abi Dare’
Dutton (2020)
This is a heart-felt coming of age tale of a 14-year-old girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village. Although fictional, it takes place in current times and sheds light on life’s reality in Nigeria. Adunni is born into poverty with cultural confines. She tolerates hardships and abuse, including an arranged marriage and domestic trafficking, but her heart is always set on getting an education and developing a “louding voice” to make a difference for other girls. Adunni’s strong, positive spirit is an inspiration for all females: those locked in poverty and those privileged who hold the keys to freedom.
