Book
Before and after : the incredible real-life stories of orphans who survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society / Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate.
The incredible real-life stories of orphans who survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Provided by publisher
"From the 1920s through 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents--hiding the fact that many weren't orphans at all, but stolen children of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity words that their babies died. The publication of Lisa Wingate's novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann's lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the fifteen family stories in this book, many determined survivors set out to trace their roots and find their families. Often raised by older parents as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. Wingate and Christie tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed, and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins. In a poignant culmination of art-meets-life, long silent victims of the tragically corrupt system return to Memphis with the authors to reclaim their stories at a Tennessee Children's Home Society reunion . . . with extraordinary results"--
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593130148
- ISBN: 0593130146
- Physical Description: xiv, 292 pages : hardcover, nonfiction ; 22 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Ballantine Books, [2019]
- Copyright: ©2019
Content descriptions
| Formatted Contents Note: | Truth meets fiction. Real-life adoptees ; In their own voices -- RSVP. A cadillac and a secret ; Clues from a high school science class ; It's all in the DNA ; One day old and sent to Memphis -- Reunion. Born on Christmas day ; A political baby ; A Hollywood life ; Left to die ; Reunion eve ; The only home she knows ; Handed off in a train station ; A pair of brown paper bags ; Seven-dollar baby ; The court case ; The night all the babies died ; Four sisters -- The reckoning. A historic cemetery and final peace ; Afterward |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Tennessee Children's Home Society > Corrupt practices > History. Adoption agencies > Corrupt practices > Tennessee > History. Family reunification > Tennessee > Case studies. |
| Genre: | Case studies. History. True crime stories. Biographies. |
Available copies
- 47 of 50 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 0 of 1 copy available at Montgomery City Public.
Holds
- 1 current hold with 50 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery City Public Library | 362.73 CHR (Text) | 31927000025036 | Adult Nonfiction | Checked out | 04/25/2024 |
Summary:
The incredible real-life stories of orphans who survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society.
"From the 1920s through 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents--hiding the fact that many weren't orphans at all, but stolen children of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity words that their babies died. The publication of Lisa Wingate's novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann's lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the fifteen family stories in this book, many determined survivors set out to trace their roots and find their families. Often raised by older parents as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. Wingate and Christie tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed, and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins. In a poignant culmination of art-meets-life, long silent victims of the tragically corrupt system return to Memphis with the authors to reclaim their stories at a Tennessee Children's Home Society reunion . . . with extraordinary results"--
"From the 1920s through 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children's Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents--hiding the fact that many weren't orphans at all, but stolen children of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity words that their babies died. The publication of Lisa Wingate's novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann's lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the fifteen family stories in this book, many determined survivors set out to trace their roots and find their families. Often raised by older parents as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. Wingate and Christie tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed, and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins. In a poignant culmination of art-meets-life, long silent victims of the tragically corrupt system return to Memphis with the authors to reclaim their stories at a Tennessee Children's Home Society reunion . . . with extraordinary results"--
