銷售已逾百萬冊,高踞《紐約時報》暢銷書排行前十名超過30週,並獲選《好讀網》2017年歷史小說獎。作者以1920至1950年代非法販售兒童的真實事件為本所創作的感人小說。許多讀者因為本書得知喬琪亞.坦(Georgia Tann)這個以合法孤兒院為耳目,實際上非法販售5000名以上孩童,獲利超過數百萬的兒童黑市女王。
1939年的曼菲斯城,12歲的Rill Foss與手足們和父母住在密西西比河的木船上,他們過著艱苦卻自在的生活。一個暴風雨的夜晚,父親必須帶著懷著身孕的母親急診,留下Rill照顧四個弟弟妹妹。不久後,一群警察闖進船屋,將他們安置在田納西兒童之家。原以為不久後就能與父母團聚,沒想到他們竟經歷了一場黑暗之旅,在孤兒院中受盡折磨,並且被迫改名,分別被孤兒院的經營者賣到有錢人的家裡,只因為他們生了一頭金髮,有一雙淡色的眼睛…。
多年後的現在,出生名門的Avery,有一個知名的參議員父親、成功的事業、英俊瀟灑的未婚夫,看似擁有了一切,而且一場豪華的婚禮正等在她眼前。為了幫助父親競選,Avery回到故鄉,參訪一所養護之家,在那裡,她與已改名為May的Rill有了第一次的會面。遲暮的Rill偷了Avery的手鍊,兩人有了再一次碰面的機會。Avery從Rill口中得知,原來她已經失智的祖母,竟是Rill的親妹妹,這個真相開啟了一連串的疑問,迫使Avery必須面對家族的黑暗史。然而,這個追尋真相的過程,為Avery帶來的毀滅,抑或是救贖…?
ONE MILLION COPIES SOLDOVER 30 WEEKS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER LIST'S TOP TEN
WINNER OF GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS 2017 BEST HISTORICAL FICTION AWARD
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, Rill is left in charge, until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth...
Aiken, South Carolina, present day
Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. 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.
'It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel' Huffington Post
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, Before We Were Yours is a riveting, wrenching and ultimately uplifting global bestseller.
'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain
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