Staff Picks: Before We Were Yours


Before We Were Yours is a book of fiction based on a true story, by Lisa Wingate.

The story is about a 12 year old Rill and her 4 siblings that live with their parents on a shanty boat, on the Mississippi River. That is until her mother goes into labor, and is having some problems, and her father takes her off the boat to a doctor. While the children are left alone on the boat, strangers come and they are taken to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society Orphanage.

It is also about the present day in Aiken, South Carolina, where born into wealth and privilege Avery comes home to help her ailing father. When a chance encounter leaves her uncomfortable and curious, she decides to dig into her family’s past.

I liked this book because it was well written and tugged at my heart. It was so hard to believe that things like this actually happened in our country.

I would recommend this book for anyone that likes to read books set in the depression era. Or anyone who wants to try something different, this is how I found this book.


Recommended by Linda Toohey

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