PRIME MEMBER EXCLUSIVE | 3 Months Free Trial

Auto-renews at INR 199/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026.
Before We Were Yours cover art

Before We Were Yours

The heartbreaking novel that has sold over one million copies

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER
3 Months Free Trial
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
1 credit a month to use on any title.
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks.
₹199 per month after 3 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
Download titles to your library and listen offline.

Before We Were Yours

Written by: Lisa Wingate
Narrated by: Catherine Taber, Emily Rankin
Get this deal

₹199 per month after 3 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.

Buy Now for ₹761.29

Buy Now for ₹761.29

**The No.1 New York Times, million-copy bestseller**

'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain

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 home - but they quickly realize the dark truth . . .

Aiken, South Carolina, present day

Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. 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.

Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals, Before We Were Yours is a riveting, wrenching and ultimately uplifting global bestseller. Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.

'It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel' Huffington Post

Readers everywhere have fallen for Before We Were Yours

'Such a powerful, emotional story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'What a great book, you just can't put it down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A wonderful story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Breathtaking' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Such a heartwrenching story but full of intrigue and love' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐©2017 Lisa Wingate 20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Historical Romance Military Sagas
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic Reviews

One of the year's best books . . . It is almost a cliché to say a book is 'lovingly written' but that phrase applies clearly to Lisa Wingate's latest novel, Before We Were Yours. This story about children taken from their parents through kidnapping or subterfuge and then placed for adoption, for a price, clearly pours out of Wingate's heart. . . . It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel. It invades your heart from the very first pages and stays there long after the book is finished. Few novelists could strike the balance this story requires but Wingate does it with assurance. There are a lot of books that will catch your eye this summer, some from our best storytellers. Make sure this one is on your radar. It should not be missed
All stars
Most relevant
Moving, sad, epic spanning 3 generations. Politics, corruption, child abuse, profiteering, and love make for an emotional potboiler

Great historical fiction

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story could be woven to be little more detailed. Parts of the characters lives are omitted

The history of the story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I do not have much to review about this best seller. But what i can vouch for is that the first person narration makes it a perfect fit for audible. 5 stars to the narrator.

A worthy book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Georgia Tann separated the Foss kids from their parents by a cruel deception. Minors like them were her chattels, bought, sold and bartered like merchandise.
These unfortunate children were uprooted from their shantyboat on the Mississippi river.. Tann seemed to know all about them, and told them things that they believed were only known to themselves. Rill tried to protect her small brother and sisters, for there was something of tyranny about Tann and other workers from whom they shrank instinctively. The thought of the poor, tragic young ones being coerced by them was intolerable. One by one, Tann sent the kids off for adoption, all the while saying a disgraceful series of falsehoods to unsuspecting childless couples. The good old days never returned for the Foss siblings — their ways of life were very far apart now.
Many years later, Avery Stafford did everything in her power to get to the bottom of these events. Nothing shook her opinion.

August, 1939.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a story! It truly makes you question the human nature which allowed such horrors. But more importantly, this story amazes you with the ability of the children to believe in their world and their strength & resilience to bounce back from the bad hand that life deals them.

A heart breaking but inspiring story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews