Lisa Wingate

Fem søsken lever et ubekymret liv på en husbåt på Mississippi-elven. Men så en dag i 1939 skjer det fatale. Memphis, 1939: Tolv år gamle Rill og hennes fire søsken lever et fritt og ubekymret liv om bord på familiens husbåt på Mississippi-elven. Men når faren i all hast må frakte moren deres til sykehuset, må Rill ta ansvaret for søskenflokken. Plutselig dukker en fremmed mann opp, og barna blir tatt vekk fra alt som er kjent og levert til et barnehjem. De blir forsikret om at de vil få komme tilbake til foreldrene, men snart oppdager de den mørke sannheten. Sør-Carolina, nåtid: Når Avery vender hjem for å hjelpe faren som er blitt syk, fører et tilfeldig møte til at hun begynner å stille spørsmål ved sin egen bakgrunn. Hun legger ut på en reise gjennom familiens glemte historie - en vei som til slutt vil føre enten til ødeleggelse eller forsoning. Lisa Wingate skriver seg med denne boken rett inn i hjertet til både anmeldere og lesere. Barna fra elven gikk rett inn på New York Times’ bestselgerliste da den kom ut i USA, og har vært inne over et år på denne prestisjefylte lista.«En roman som berører.» The New York Post«Denne fortellingen er ekte og original.» Historical Novels Review

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate captures the heart and faith of small-town America in Talk of the Town. Daily, Texas, has never really been known for much until Amber Anderson becomes a finalist on a television singing show. The producers want to stage a surprise concert for one of the final episodes--only everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. And word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a bad-boy actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town? Widow Imagene Doll loves her town, but without her beloved husband, life seems lonely--and a bit dull. At least until that fancy-dressed television producer pulls into town, looking terrified and glamorous all at once. Soon life's not the least bit boring as the town finds itself at the center of a media maelstrom . . . with a young girl's future on the line.

Årets mest gripande roman. Bygger på den sanna historien om hur barn från fattiga förhållanden kidnappades och såldes till välbärgade familjer. Över en miljon sålda böcker i USA! Memphis, 1939. Tolvåriga Rill Foss och hennes fyra yngre syskon bor med sina föräldrar på en båt på Mississippifloden. När deras föräldrar tvingas åka till sjukhuset en stormig natt lämnas Rill kvar för att passa syskonen. Men helt plötsligt dyker främlingar upp. De sliter med sig barnen och placerar dem på barnhem, och syskonen är övertygade om att föräldrarna snart kommer för att hämta dem. Snart går det dock upp för dem att verkligheten är bra mycket brutalare än så. Aiken, South Carolina, nutid. Åklagaren Avery Stafford råkar snubbla över oroväckande information och börjar nysta i sin familjehistoria. Vad var det egentligen som försiggick i Amerika mellan 1920 och 1950? Och hur är hennes familj inblandad i Georgia Tanns adoptionsverksamhet? Baserad på en av Amerikas mest ökända skandaler där Georgia Tann, föreståndare för Memphis barnhem, kidnappade och sålde fattiga barn till rika familjer över hela landet. Lisa Wingates hjärtskärande men samtidigt hoppfulla och vackra berättelse påminner oss om att vart ödet än för oss, glömmer vi aldrig varifrån vi en gång kom." En väldigt drabbande berättelse." SVT Go'kväll"En både ömsint och skakande roman. Betyg 4 av 5." TARA"Lisa Wingate förtrollar med sitt språk, sin ton och sin lyhördhet inför de levnadsöden hon återger. Om jag bara fick rekommendera ett fåtal av höstens romaner skulle Innan ni tog oss utan tvekan finnas bland dem." Johannas deckarhörna"Det här är en väldigt välskriven och berörande bok som väcker starka känslor. (...) Den här boken kommer att stanna i mina tankar ett bra tag framöver. Lästips!" Malins bokblogg"Innan ni tog oss är något extra. (...) Det är en berättelse som med sina 442 sidor letade sig in i varje vrå i mitt hjärta. Den fick mig gråta, skratta och reflektera. En tragisk, men underbar berättelse." Boktokig

****THE NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER****The heartbreaking tale of two families, two generations apart, based on a notorious true-life scandal.

THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT--Over two million copies sold A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller "Poignant, engrossing."--People - "Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation's history and weaves a tale of enduring power."--Paula McLain Memphis, 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 to their parents--but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility's cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty. Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fianc , and a lavish wedding on the horizon. 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--in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, 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. Publishers Weekly's #3 Longest-Running Bestseller of 2017 - Winner of the Southern Book Prize - If All Arkansas Read the Same Book Selection

Experience three novellas about the joys and trials of sisterhood The Sea Glass SistersA mother-daughter road trip is the last thing Elizabeth Gallagher needs. But with an impending hurricane, they are determined to convince Aunt Sandy to abandon her seaside store and return home. Instead, they discover that sisterhood can change hearts, lives, and futures . . . often in unpredictable ways. The Tidewater SistersTandi Reese and her sister, Gina, have complicated ties. Faced with legal papers for a fraud she didn't commit, Tandi heads to the North Carolina Tidewater for a reckoning. But to unravel lies from truth, she must first confront strained sibling bonds and uncover a dark family secret. The Sandcastle SisterNew York editor Jen Gibbs has not only acquired Evan Hall's blockbuster book deal--she's also accepted his engagement proposal. Now she's scared to death. In Jen's family history, marriage represents the death of every dream a woman holds. Will her mother's long-held secret change Jen's belief's about life and love?

2016 Christy Award Winner (Contemporary novel category)From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt's WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny. Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina's Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at the Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney's estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney's only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a Depression-era love story change everything?

With love and loss tangled together, how was she to know where her life would lead? Allie Kirkland has always heard the call of her father's unfinished destiny. When she's offered a production assistant's job on a docudrama filming in the hills near Moses Lake, Texas, the dream of following in her director-father's footsteps suddenly seems within reach. The reenactment of the legendary frontier settlement of Wildwood is a first step into the film industry. A summer on set in the wilderness is a small price to pay for a dream. But in 1861, the real Wildwood held dangerous realities. Town founder Harland Delavan held helpless residents, including young Irish schoolteacher Bonnie Rose, in an iron grip. Mysterious disappearances led to myths and legends still retold in the region's folk songs. Eventually, the entire site was found abandoned. When filming begins, strange connections surface between Allie and the teacher who disappeared over a century ago, and everyone in Wildwood--including Blake Fulton, Allie's handsome neighbor on the film set--seems to be hiding secrets. Allie doesn't know whom she can trust. If she can't find the answers in time, history may repeat itself...with the most unthinkable results.

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house. Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house. Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Lisa Wingate Is a Top Name in Inspirational Contemporary Romance At thirty-four, congressional staffer Mallory Hale is about to embark on an adventure completely off the map. After a whirlwind romance, she is hopelessly in love with two men--fortunately, they're related. Daniel Everson and his little boy, Nick, are a package deal, and Mallory suddenly can't imagine her future without them. Mallory couldn't be more shocked when Daniel asks her to marry him, move to Texas, and form a family with him and motherless Nick. The idea is both thrilling and terrifying. Mallory takes a leap of faith and begins a sweet, mishap-filled journey into ranch living, Moses Lake society, and a marriage that at times reminds her of the mail-order-bride stories. But despite the wild adventure of her new life, she discovers secrets and questions beneath her rosy new life. Can she find answers on Firefly Island, a little chunk of property just off the lakeshore, where mysterious lights glisten at night?

"Lisa Wingate writes with depth and warmth, joy and wit."--Debbie MacomberHeather Hampton returns to Moses Lake, Texas, to help facilitate the sale of a family farm as part of a planned industrial plant that will provide the area with much-needed jobs. Heather's future fiance has brokered the deal, and Heather is in line to do her first large-scale architectural design--if the deal goes through. But the currents of Moses Lake have a way of taking visitors on unexpected journeys. What was intended to be a quick trip suddenly morphs into Valentine's week--with Blaine Underhill, the handsome banker who just happens to be opposing Heather's project. Spending the holiday in an ex-funeral parlor seems like a nightmare, but Heather slowly finds herself being drawn into the area's history, hope, and heart.

"A story beautifully told, with richly drawn characters that will...make you want to laugh and cry"* from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Friends and Before We Were Yours. All her life, Epiphany Salerno has been tossed like a dandelion seed on the wind. Now, at sixteen, she must move to the low-rent side of Blue Sky Hill and work where she's not wanted: in an upscale home on The Hill. J. Norman Alvord's daughter has hired a teenager to stay with him in the afternoons. Widowed and suffering from heart trouble, Norman wants to be left alone. But in Epie's presence, Norman discovers a mystery. Deep in his mind lie memories of another house, another life, and a woman who saved him. As summer comes to Blue Sky Hill, two residents from different worlds will journey through a turbulent past, and find that with an unexpected road trip through sleepy Southern towns comes life-changing friendship...and clues to a family secret hidden for a lifetime. Winner of the 2012 Carol Award for Women's Fiction from the American Christian Fiction Writers

Adventure is the last thing on Andrea Henderson's mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life, she's struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker. Perhaps in doing a job that makes a difference, she can find some sense of purpose and solace in her shattered faith. For new Moses Lake game warden Mart McClendon, finding a sense of purpose in life isn't an issue. He took the job to get out of southwest Texas and the constant reminders of a tragedy for which he can't forgive himself. But when a little girl is seen with the town recluse, Mart and Andrea are drawn together in the search for her identity. The little girl offers them both a new chance at redemption and hope--and may bring them closer than either ever planned.

An ordinary summer brings about an extraordinary change of heart in the first novel in the Blue Sky Hill series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Friends and Before We Were Yours. Changes aren't in Rebecca Macklin's plans when she receives a long-distance call from the Dallas police. Her aging father has been found repeatedly wandering the city streets alone, and his wife has suffered a serious illness and landed in a nursing home. Despite the demands of the busy LA legal practice Rebecca shares with her husband, she must put aside old resentments and return to her childhood home. When Hanna Beth Parker hears about the arrival of her stepdaughter, Rebecca, who has stayed away for decades, she knows something is terribly wrong. Suddenly, the last person she'd ever turn to for help is the only one she can count on. But forging a relationship with Rebecca will require awakening old ghosts. In this moving story of separation and forgiveness, two women will unravel the betrayals of the past, examine the yearnings of the heart, and discover the truest meaning of family.

In a time of crisis, two women come together and set off down a road of hope in this novel in the Tending Roses series from the New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours. Twenty-year-old Jenilee Lane, whose dreams are as narrow as the sky is wide, doesn't imagine any good could come out of the tornado that has ripped across the Missouri farmland where she makes her home. But some inner spark compels her to take action. To rescue her elderly neighbor Eudora Gibson from the cellar in which she's been trapped. To make her way to the nearby town of Poetry, where the townspeople have begun to gather in the only building left standing. To collect from the devastated landscape fragments of life that lie strewn about in the tornado's wake: letters, photographs, and mementos that might mean something to people who have lost everything. Eudora Gibson didn't think Jenilee had it in her. But the girl she's hardly noticed for years is now surprising her--stepping forward with a bravery that inspires Eudora to face her own bitter past. Brought close by tragedy, the two will learn lessons about the resilience of the human spirit and the ties that make a community strong. And together, they will travel to a place that once lay beyond their dreams.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Friends and Before We Were Yours comes a heartfelt novel about the bonds of family and the power of second chances. When Kate Bowman temporarily moves to her grandmother's Missouri farm with her husband and baby son, she learns that the lessons that most enrich our lives often come unexpectedly. The family has given Kate the job of convincing Grandma Rose, who's become increasingly stubborn and forgetful, to move off her beloved land and into a nursing home. But Kate knows such a change would break her grandmother's heart. Just when Kate despairs of finding answers, she discovers her grandma's journal. A beautiful handmade notebook, it is full of stories that celebrate the importance of family, friendship, and faith. Stories that make Kate see her life--and her grandmother--in a completely new way....

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by little-known historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students lives. In her distinctive voice, Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual Lost Friends advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold off. Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinias former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and eight siblings before slaverys end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope. Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debtuntil she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, seems suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.