What a great night we had at Arnora's! We were sorry that Pam, Denise, Tammy and Terry could not make it. Lou was back at home in Florida and, of course, Darby is in Chicago. Diana and I had just driven in from our trip to Salida, Colorado and we made it in time for book club.
Arnora made a delicious lemon cod with rice that paired nicely with an assortment of summer salads and the bread and cheese appetizer. Salads included; apple-broccoli, Asian, cucumber-tomato-onion, cherry tomato-cheese and yellow squash in a vinaigrette.
Laura provided berry shortcake and cherry pie with homemade whipped cream for dessert. We had an unusually good assortment of wines and tea and coffee.
Everyone enjoyed catching up on recent travels before we settled in for our discussion of "Before We Were Yours," written by Lisa Wingate.
This story is told in two parts; the present day Avery residing in Boston but returning home to Charleston, SC. Avery's dad is a Senator undergoing treatment for cancer. They are grooming Avery to run for his seat if his treatments do not go well. At a political event at a local nursing home, Avery stumbles onto a photo of her own grandmother in the room of a resident she doesn't know. This sends her on a journey to discover the connection. The second story is that of five children living on a Shanty boat on Mud Island in Memphis, TN. When the parents go into town for the birth of twins, the children are stolen off the boat by the Tennessee Children's Home and put up for adoption.This story chronicles the true life story of Georgia Tann through one families separation and eventual reunification. Georgia Tann was a notorious child trafficker that operated several Tennessee "children's homes" between the 1920's through 1950. Thousands of children were stolen through various means and sold or, "adopted" out to wealthy politicians, actors and or various socialites. Georgia profited to the tune of about $10 million dollars in today's money but, was also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of babies and toddlers through abuse, neglect and malnutrition. She was eventually prosecuted but fate had its way with her. She died of ovarian cancer before she could be convicted. The story of Georgia Tann is true. The story of the Foss children and Avery is fictionalized.
We all agreed that the story felt like it had been written by two different authors. The story of the Foss children was deeply emotional and riveting. But, when we switched to Avery's story, it seemed lighter, more predictable and a step above the Harlequin Romance.
However, we also felt that the lighter story was a reprieve from the deeply disturbing story of how these children had been treated. And, Avery's story had another angle to consider. Avery is born into wealth and position in the south. Her family is well connected politically and socially. She is highly educated and it is understood that she will marry her childhood sweetheart and at some point step into her father's senate seat.
The discovery that her, now ailing, grandmother is from these shanty boat people and the discovery of how the siblings survived and found each other causes Avery to deeply search her soul. Is she in love with the childhood sweetheart? Will the law and politics be her true calling or, is she just simply living out a path that is chosen for her.
The theme throughout the book for all of the characters is how they struggle to sing their own song. The separated sisters all wear the same bracelet with the dragonfly symbol. In the Native American Animal Totem meaning the dragonfly:
Carries the wisdom of transformation and adaptability. It is connected to the symbolism of change and light. It reminds you to bring more lightness and joy into your life. Those with this totem may be inclined to delve deep into their emotions and shine their true colors.
The book rated a 4.3. Next month we will meet at Denise's and our book is The Wonder, recommended by Pam.
