Before We Were Yours

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Hi friends,

Long time, no talk. Don't worry, plenty of reading.

Life has been a little hectic lately. A lot hectic. My husband and I both started new jobs, he went back to school. In the hustle and bustle I put down this blog. But recently I've been missing it, so here I am! Back again!

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I recently finshed Before We Were Yours. I know I'm so late to the party. This book came so highly recommended that I actually ended up with two copies- both of which were thrust into my hands by friends who said I just had to read this book, I would love it. They were right, y'all.

Before We Were Yours tells the story of a family that was raised, for a time, on the river. One day, tragedy strikes and the young children are taken from their home to the Tennessee Home for Children. There, they are forced to endure all types of unthinkable hardship, all the while waiting for their mother and father to save them. Meanwhile, in a future storyline told in alternating chapters, a woman from a very different family struggles with the expectations being forced upon her by her politically powerful family.

I have to say that the two storylines intersected beautifully. I loved watching the characters develop in tandem and then overlap in a suprising and beautiful way. The one storyline I could have done without is the love interests - they felt forced and read as though the editor added them in after the fact so that the romance angle could play to a wider audience. Nevertheless I was absolutely captivated by this story, the characters, the setting, the voice. I was horrified to learn that the foundation was not fiction- this terrible part of American history is a dark chapter to be sure, but Before We Were Yours shows that something magnificent can grow even in the darkest night.

10/10 would recommend.

"A woman's past need not predict her future. She can dance to new music if she chooses. Her own music. To hear the tune, she must only stop talking. To herself, I mean. We're always trying to persuade ourselves of things."