Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society

My initial reaction to this is... hot damn.

History is full of shitty people doing shitty things. That should be no surprise to anyone with an inkling of history. People got shat on for being the wrong sex, religion, race, caste/class, or nationality. They got shat on for all kinds of reasons - money (or wealth/land/resources) being one of the biggest reasons.

This is no exception. Children were kidnapped and sold because of people who valued money over the lives of children, or the bond that mothers had with their children. I don't want to say 'trigger warning' here, but some of the stories are truly heartbreaking and fucked-up.

I mean, sure, many of these children were adopted into loving homes, so good for them, but others died, and show more nothing will change the fact that they were kidnapped, and their birth mothers told that they died, or the like. show less

Those who were engrossed by Lisa Wingate's bestseller, "Before We Were Yours,” might also be interested in "Before and After," a work of non-fiction by Judy Christie and Ms. Wingate. This book documents what happened to some of the adoptees placed by Georgia Tann, who operated a "black-market baby business" from 1924 to 1950 "without scrutiny or interference." Tann's Memphis-based Tennessee Children's Home Society (TCHS) was a way-station for thousands of children who, for a fee, were handed over to prospective buyers in Tennessee, New York, California, and elsewhere. Among her other misdeeds, Tann falsified records, bribed judges and health-care workers, and lied both to birth parents and the adopting couples about significant facts show more that might otherwise have prevented these transactions from taking place.

Georgia Tann committed monstrous crimes. Although some desperate women gave away their newborns and toddlers voluntarily, Tann and her go-betweens routinely kidnapped infants and children; told unsuspecting new mothers that their babies had died, when they were actually alive and subsequently snatched and sold; and persuaded naïve parents to sign papers surrendering their child or children to the TCHS. The havoc caused by Tann--who passed away before she could be brought to justice--was incalculable. She separated biological mothers and fathers from their children, and siblings from their brothers and sisters. Tennessee law prevented adoptees who wanted information about their roots from finding out what happened until decades had passed.

In "Before and After," Christie explores the impact that Wingate's novel, "Before We Were Yours" had on its readers. In addition, she recounts the reminiscences of men and women whom Tann treated as commodities, and the belated reunions (some sad, many joyful) that took place after much time had passed. This is a wrenching and depressing account of corruption, greed, deceit, and malevolence. At times, the narrative is a bit disjointed, since it is told from so many perspectives, and repeatedly goes back and forth in time. There are numerous names to keep track of and countless dispiriting first-person descriptions of pain and suffering. Although some of Tann's victims--tragically, hundreds of youngsters are believed to have died from illness and neglect while in "unregulated, often squalid, holding facilities"—did go on to have productive and fulfilling lives, few escaped the feeling that something was amiss (especially when their parents neglected to reveal that they were adopted). All wonder, "Why didn't anyone stop it?" show less

Two years ago I read Before We Were Yours and it remains one of the most impactful books based on true events that I have ever read. While the characters were fictional, Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Adoption Scandal were not.

Books like Before We Were Yours are powerful because they bring to light heartbreaking parts of history that many people were unaware of before. In addition, this book took on an even bigger role for a group of people who came forward as children were connected to these actual events.

Before and After shares the non-fiction real-life accounts of 12 victims and their personal stories including photos and artifacts from the Tennessee Children's Home Society Orphanage. Authors Judy Christie & Lis Wingate took on the show more powerful role of connected these victims to each other and to siblings some of them never knew they had.

While what Georgia Tann did was just horrific, I did appreciate that some of the stories shared moments of light in a time of such darkness. The story of baby Lillian who's adoptive parents chose her over a healthy baby boy when they found her sickly and covered in a rash in a corner of a room on their way to pick up their baby was especially impactful. Her adoptive parents ended up elbowing past Tann and choosing Lillian, which ultimately saved her life. Tann would leave the sickly children to die since they were what she assumed "worthless" and it is estimated that over 500 children lost their lives while in the care of Tann.

This book felt very satisfying as Before We Were Yours opened the door to such a tragic part of fairly recent U.S. History. I love the idea that this group of survivors was able to come together and now have each other to process with and support one another. While the stories in Before and After were heartbreaking it was also filled with lots of hope and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. show less

Every now and then I like to take a break from emotional fiction books, so I’ll switch to something non-fiction to put my heart on reset. Well, that wasn’t the case with Before and After. The real-life stories in this book are incredibly moving, memorable, and emotional.

I can’t fathom how Georgia Tann’s soul and heart was hardened so bristly that she dispassionately and mechanically stole and traded babies. I truly can’t fathom it. And I can only imagine the fear of the children as they were snatched away, and the desperation, pain, and lifelong heartbreak of the birth parents.

Her heartlessness and carelessness, and authorities turning a blind eye to her money-making horrendous “business” resulted in broken families, show more shattered parents, many children dying and being mistreated before finding a home, and others suffering awful upbringings once they did. Despite her evil schemes, some of the adoptees were raised by loving families.

* If you’ve read Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours, I highly recommend this non-fiction addition. It tells the real-life survival stories of victims of Georgia Tann and her Tennessee Children’s Home Society.

** If you haven’t read Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours, it would be highly beneficial to read it first. You won’t regret it. It caused every nerve ending in my body to prickle, and gave my soul the major f-e-e-l-s. With vivid scenes, remarkable characters, a momentous historical scandal, and lessons of faith, family, friendship, and freedom, it’s on my list of the most memorable, heart-searing books I’ve read.

Source: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. show less

Truth is better than fiction, and alas fiction is about to come true, and these wonderful authors share their experiences and lives with us.
Yes, I read “Before We Were Yours, along with a million other readers, and the feeling that book evoked are magnified here as we put names to the people that lives were forever changes. The evil perpetrated by Georgian Tann, and others all in the name of greed, and the shattered lives she left in her wake.
Now we know why the first book was written, the power it held to let people go forward with their lives. With some it has opened doors to lost family, with others a method of closure, and others a type of healing with others of similar experiences.
Is justice served? That is unanswered, the main show more instigator died years ago, and I believe she got what she deserved, but we know many more were involved, and they had to live with what they did no matter how they tried to justify their actions.
A great addition to the first book, and yes, fiction meets fact.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Random House, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

I read "Before We Were Yours" a year and a half ago so I didn't remember everything about it, but enough. The real-life stories of the people Judy Christie interviewed were just as shocking as the one Lisa Wingate made up.

If you have read the fictional book Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, this is the non-fiction story of the actual children who came from the Tennessee Home for Children in Memphis. The authors arranged a reunion for adoptees who were placed in the home in the 1930's and 1940's. Most of the adopted children were age 70 or above and were still looking for news of parents or siblings. Most of them were adopted as infants, but a few remember being in the Tennessee Home and tell the story of being separated from their families. Their stories are hopeful and heartbreaking, but most leave the reunion knowing they are not alone and others have the same feelings as they do.