About this item
Highlights
- A genealogy search reveals heartrending connections between friends as it brings to light one woman's traumatic past as a teenage mother in the 1960s.
- Author(s): Elizabeth Langston
- 363 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Historical
Description
About the Book
"A genealogy search reveals heartrending connections between friends as it brings to light one woman's traumatic past as a teenage mother in the 1960s"--Book Synopsis
A genealogy search reveals heartrending connections between friends as it brings to light one woman's traumatic past as a teenage mother in the 1960s.
In a quiet North Carolina town in 1968, a seventeen-year-old girl's life is forever changed when a summer romance leads to an unplanned pregnancy. She is sent to an abusive "maternity home," where she is shamed and deceived into signing adoption papers.
In the present day, Allison Garrett volunteers as a "search angel," using DNA tests to help strangers locate lost relatives. But the family tree she finds most compelling is that of her own mother, who was abandoned as a baby. As Allison puts the pieces together, they reveal much more than her mother's origins--and threaten to create further divisions in her tight-knit community.
When a family is separated by devastating circumstances, is it possible for them to heal the pain of the past and make up for lost time?
Review Quotes
"I enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot...Recommended reading." --Historical Novels Review
"Told with heartfelt compassion from the poignant beginning to a wonderfully uplifting ending, Once You Were Mine is an insightful story of family and the courage it takes to embrace the tenuous nature of expectations when belief is challenged." --Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of The Colony Club
"Quietly powerful and tenderly written, Once You Were Mine reveals the messy painful aftermath of long ago choices and buried family secrets. Langston offers hope without being sappy and leaves readers believing that it's never too late for a second chance." --Alix Rickloff, author of The Last Light Over Oslo
"Elizabeth Langston's masterfully crafted Once You Were Mine is a poignant, emotional journey across generations. This compelling tale of teen pregnancy, family secrets, and women's struggles in a changing society is an extremely worthwhile read." --Monica Chenault-Kilgore, author of The Jewel of the Blues
"Elizabeth Langston's novel, Once You Were Mine is a poignant story of how DNA tests can force families to navigate a new present, and come to terms with a difficult past. The novel will keep readers engaged until the end to discover how family secrets can touch and change lives." --Georgie Blalock, author of The Windsor Conspiracy