Tuesday, June 26, 2018

June 2018 Bookclub News




Tennessee Children's Home

Dear Bookclub,
 I am so sorry to have been out of town, missing June's bookclub meeting at Diane's to discuss Lisa Wingate's "Before We Were Yours". Rich for discussion, the author described the experience of surfing the reality in an online site, Signature, http://www.signature-reads.com/2017/06/before-we-were-yours-the-truth-about-tennessees-lost-children/  Wingate states ultimately that when learning of true accounts from Georgia Tann's criminal acts, "For any story you can write, there's someone who's lived it."
Get out a kleenex and see a reunion on a 1991 Oprah episode:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzp8ey7spO0
 
Gratefully, Diane has written an account of the evening to share:

Diane here, subbing in for our eloquent leader with a few notes about our recent June meeting.  Despite the off-schedule meeting date - Wednesday instead of Thursday - there was a great turnout of 8 Novel Group members ready to engage in a lively discussion of Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate’s novel based on true accounts of adoptions that were less than above board which really tugged at everyone’s heart.  Georgia Tann was running quite a business in the 1930’s-1950’s in Memphis, TN practically stealing children from disadvantaged families and selling them to desperate families unable to have children of their own. Through one such transaction we meet the 5  lovable, and endearing, children of Briny and Queenie aboard their river shanty, the Arcadia.  The book sparked many discussions about adoptions, infertility, feelings of abandonment, and even the recent headlines of family separations at our border.  The discussion was passionate and enlightening, and many remarked one one of the best discussions we have had in awhile. 

The impoverished setting of the book was definitely a food theme challenge, so I decided that as a nod to the book to share my recent experience of simple, Tuscan dishes.  A rustic Panzanella (think bruschetta in a bowl!) followed by a very simple tiramisu ended up as crowd pleasers. 

Four books were presented for future consideration:
Dead Wake, Eric Larson (chosen)
The House of Broken Angels, Luis Alberto Urrea (close 2nd)
32 Yolks, Eric Ripert
The Last Ballad, Wiley Cash


Happy campers #1

Happy campers #2





































Up next: Elizabeth Cook's, "The Which Way Tree".

Happy Reading!
LK

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