Before and After

Praise

Advance praise for Before and After

“In Before and After, authors Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate tackle the true stories behind Wingate’s blockbuster Before We Were Yours, of the orphans who survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. With a journalist’s keen eye and a novelist’s elegant prose, Christie and Wingate weave together the stories that inspired Before We Were Yours with the lives that were changed as a result of reading the novel. Readers will be educated, enlightened, and enraptured by this important and flawlessly executed book.”
—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale and The Lost Girls of Paris
 
“Lisa Wingate’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel Before We Were Yours brought worldwide attention to a shocking scandal of lost and stolen children. What she couldn’t know was that her novel would also become the catalyst for survivors, now in old age, to share their stories. Before and After, while at times a very sad and shocking read, is ultimately a collection of astonishing real-life stories of strength, hope, and resilience in the face of the cruelest circumstances. If you read Before We Were Yours, you will devour Before and After.”
—Amy Hill Hearth, New York Times bestselling author of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years

“Fans who couldn’t get enough of Before We Were Yours will devour this book in a single sitting. In Before and After, Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate gracefully chronicle the experiences of survivors forever affected by a corrupt Tennessee orphanage, leading many to a life-altering reunion in search of healing. . . . Not only a heart-wrenching and inspiring read but also a testament to the incredible power of storytelling.”
—Kristina McMorris, author of Sold on a Monday and The Edge of Lost
 
“Truly fascinating accounts of relatives lost and found, and of the reverberations through generations of countless families caused by a single person’s greed, these stories of strength, hope, and uncertainty will remain with me.”
—Cea Sunrise Person, author of North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both

“An uplifting exploration of what family truly means. Most of the stories are touching tales of discovering one’s true history and reuniting with biological relatives. This title is an excellent companion to Wingate’s novel and will surely be a hit on the book club circuit.”
—Booklist
 
“Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate have given readers a precious gift in this book, in these haunting stories filled with both heartache and hope. What you hold in your hands is a testament to the power of family, faith, and the love that binds our human hearts. You will race through Before and After, but you will keep thinking about it long after the final page.”
—Allison Pataki, author of Beauty in the Broken Places