Lisa Wingate’s 2017 novel, impressed by the real-life scandal surrounding the Tennessee Kids’s House Society, tells a twin narrative. One thread follows the Foss youngsters, stolen from their riverboat household within the Nineteen Thirties. The opposite follows Avery Stafford, a present-day lawyer grappling with household secrets and techniques that join her to the historic injustices. The fictionalized account sheds mild on the Society’s practices of kidnapping and illegally adopting out youngsters to rich households.
The novel’s significance lies in its elevating consciousness of a darkish chapter in American historical past, bringing the plight of those youngsters and their households to a wider viewers. It sparks conversations about classism, social injustice, and the lasting affect of trauma. Moreover, it encourages reflection on the moral duties of adoption companies and the significance of preserving household bonds. The guide’s recognition has spurred additional analysis and dialogue concerning the Tennessee Kids’s House Society and related establishments.