Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society is written by Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate. It is the companion novel, of sorts, to the fictional story Before We Were Yours. I do not feel you have to read Before We Were Yours to enjoy Before and After. Before We Were Yours, written by Lisa Wingate, brought to light Georgia Tann's hideous crimes. In the book, Before and After, we hear from the adoptees that were forever changed by the Tennessee Children's Home Society (TCHS), Georgia Tann and her many co-conspirators. These brave men and women graciously share their family’s stories of sadness, triumph, and reconnection in Before and After. "How can you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been?" Abraham Lincoln I won't be sharing any of the personal stories in my review. I feel that the stories are the heart and soul of Before and After and should be experienced first-hand. However, I will share my thoughts and emotions. The emotions I experienced while reading this book ranged from sheer joy to deep sadness and were felt to the depths of my soul. I can't imagine the courage it took for these fifteen people and their families to share their stories with the world. Accounts that are so important to be told, so that this type of appalling treatment of innocent children and their families are never repeated. I applaud these two authors for sharing these incredibly heart-breaking stories in the most compassionate way possible. I could feel the connection; through their writing, these two women had with all the people they interviewed for this book. I can only imagine the tears that were shed while they spoke with these heroic people. I know I shed many tears while reading these heart-breaking stories, but there were also many smiles. These horrible crimes began in 1924 and continue until 1950. How did five thousand children, many of whom were not orphans, arrive in the clutches of Georgia Tann? Why was this allowed to happen for almost thirty years? Why did no one speak up? And how did an estimated five hundred children succumb to the neglect that was rampant in TCHS? These are just some of the questions that Before and After conjured up in my mind. Before and After recounts how Georgia Tann kidnapped babies and children from poor families and frightened unwed pregnant women, then sold them to and wealthy prominent families. Many of these families were respected powerful politicians and well-known celebrities. Other times Tann would tell these parents that their child had died during or soon after birth. These babies and children were then sold like commodities all over the United States. Tann was a devious woman and covered her crimes well. She would often falsify birth records to protect herself and her co-conspirators. This made it almost impossible for birth families to find each other later in life. Georgia Tann built her empire on the misfortune, tears, and sorrow of the mothers and fathers from whom she stole these children. Her greed had no boundaries. In just the last ten years of her life, Tann profited over five hundred thousand dollars; This would be about between five and ten million in today's dollar. Before and After is a story that is horrific in one sense and uplifting in another. This book speaks directly to what the human spirit can endure. A story that must be shared with the world, so something like this never happens again. I highly recommend this book. *** I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. ***