THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT - A #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story. For readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and Orphan Train.Born into a world of wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. A loving daughter to her father, a US senator, with her own ambitious career as a lawyer and a handsome fiance waiting for her in Baltimore, she has lived a charmed life.But when Avery returns to Aiken to help her father weather a health crisis and a political attack, a chance encounter with May Crandall, an elderly woman she's never met before, leaves Avery deeply shaken. Avery's decision to learn more about May's life will take her on a journey through a hidden history of stolen children and illegal adoption. A journey that will reveal a secret that could lead to devastation...or redemption.Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals - in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organisation, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country - Lisa Wingate's riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.PRAISE'Wingate is a compelling storyteller, steeping her narrative with a forward momentum that keeps the reader as engaged and curious.' - Publisher's Weekly'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.' - Huffington Post'The society seems too Dickensian to be true, except that it was, and its black-market adoption practices caused a stir in the mid-twentieth century. Wingate writes with flair, and her distinctly drawn characters and adept use of the adoption scandal will keep readers turning the pages.' - Booklist'Lisa Wingate's heart-racing, heart-wrenching tale of a family ripped apart by the Tennessee Children's Home Society scandal, rang so true I couldn't sleep until I knew their fate. Days later, I'm still haunted by the diabolical plot to steal and sell the most vulnerable children to high bidders, sanctioned by high-ranking officials who looked the other way.' - Julie Kibler, International Bestselling Author of Calling Me Home
