"Music takes us out of ourselves, away from our worries and tragedies, helps us look into a different world, a bigger picture."
The Chilbury Ladies Cho"Music takes us out of ourselves, away from our worries and tragedies, helps us look into a different world, a bigger picture."
The Chilbury Ladies Choir sang their hearts out!! It was a song of joy, strength , and resilience as they bonded together in a steadfast Home Front!!
The story takes place in the English village of Chilbury, in 1940. The Vicar declared that the choir be disband because the men were off to war. The Ladies of the choir rebelled and formed their own choir~The Chilbury Ladies' Choir.
Their story is told through letters, diary, and journal entries. Their voices were a mix of personalities with their individual strengths and weaknesses. Mrs Tilling, a timid widow and nurse; Edwina Paltry, a conniving midwife; Venitia, a self-centered flirt; Kitty, her younger sister who loved to sing; and Silvie, a Jewish refugee.
This delightful story is full of intrigue, romance, war, blackmail, and plenty of action to keep you enticed!
It was wonderful to see the way the ladies came together to help each other and the town. They found strength in themselves, and hope, support, and joy from each other!
The choice of music the choir sings is very inspiring, and it was as if I could hear the beautiful music and feel the JOY of it!!
The author did a wonderful job of bringing the character's personalities to life! They were very interesting and well-drawn. These amazing women tell the story of what it must have been like to live through this time of war.
I loved this story! It was one of HOPE!!
I give this book 4 stars! And recommend it to all!...more
This was such a good story! A wonderful historical fiction! Very compelling and lovingly written!
"A woman's past need not predict her future. She can This was such a good story! A wonderful historical fiction! Very compelling and lovingly written!
"A woman's past need not predict her future. She can dance to new music if she chooses. Her own music."
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is a powerful, heart-wrenching story that sheds light on the true story of the horrific child-brokering scheme of Georgia Tann, and The Tenneessee Children's Home Society from the early 1930s to 1950s. Families were literally ripped apart!
There are two story lines; The PAST: 1939, as told by Rill Foss, a twelve yr old river gypsy and her Mom, Queenie, Dad, Briney, a brother and three sisters on a Shanty-Boat on the Mississippi River. They are very poor with few possessions but they have love and each other! Rill was left to care for her siblings when her pregnant Mother has to be taken to the hospital. Meantime, Rill and her siblings are snatched away by strangers, and taken to the Children's Home Society run by Georgia Tann. There, in horrible conditions, Rill struggles to survive and keep her siblings safe and together in such a deplorable and abusive setting! My heart goes out to Rill:
"It's just a little ache, and I know where it comes from. I can stop it anytime. The one in my heart is way bigger. I can't fix it no matter how hard I try. It scares me so much that I can't even breathe."
AND PRESENT Day: Told by Avery Stafford, a young woman and lawyer, from a very prominent family in Aikens, SC. One day in a Nursing Home a woman named May, calls her by another name. This sends Avery on an intriguing journey searching through her Grandmother Judy's history, and finding hidden family secrets!
"The idea splits me down the middle, leaving half of my identity on each side of the divide. Am I my father's daughter, or am I just me? Do I have to sacrifice one to be the other? " Avery's dilemma!
Wingate intertwined the two story lines beautifully, and then she created an awesome finish that leaves you yearing for more!
I learned a lot through this story about this horrific time in our history. It left me with feelings of astonishment and anger! It's so sad that authorities knew of, and colluded in, this terrible travesty---the TCHS's scheme of child-brokering to affluent families, and that this went on for years!!!
This was an amazing read! And even though there is sadness and sorrow, and makes you angry, there is also joy; and in the end, you have hope! Hope in love and family!
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