Hello reading friends,
Today I will conclude the second part of my first quarter reading recommendations. Having given all my caveats in the first post, we’ll just dive in!
These last two recommendations, Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner and Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, are in many ways a perfect pairing. Since I read them back-to-back, I was struck by similarities.
While fictional, both stories are inspired by true and tragic historical happenings. Also, both narratives captivate while simultaneously giving readers an education and window into institutions and movements that should never have existed. Lastly, both stories have similar key takeaways.
More thoughts in my conclusion, but for now, let me introduce the two titles.
Historical Fiction:
Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner
“Do you honestly think because of her condition that God in heaven loves Roseanne Maras less than you or me? Do you honestly believe that he loves anyone who is blind, or crippled, or can’t think straight, less than anyone else?” Susan Meissner, Only the Beautiful
This quote perfectly encapsulates the theme of Susan Meissner’s Only the Beautiful, a story that takes place during the WWII era and follows two women: Roseanne Maras, a suddenly orphaned California teenager, and Helen Calvert, an American career nanny caught in the ravages of the Reich in Vienna.
Both women’s stories are deeply, personally, and disturbingly affected by the Eugenics Movement of the 30’s and 40’s.
While I was aware of Hitler’s Eugenics ideology, I knew only a smidge about its stain in America’s history. The book was informative and thought provoking, giving insight into Eugenics’ influence in both Europe and the States.
Meissner talks a bit about her research and reasons for writing the book in an author’s note, but this interview with The Poisoned Pen Bookstore goes into more depth. If you read the book (or have read it), I think you will find it fascinating.
Additionally, Meisner mentions the book Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck. It tells the story of the supreme court case that set legal precedence to justify and propel Eugenics. It’s now on my TBR nonfiction list.
Only the Beautiful is not only informative, it is beautifully written and a compelling read. I love the way Meissner weaves the two women’s narratives together. The book ends on a redemptive note, giving readers a satisfying conclusion.
I finished it in a few days. Highly recommend!
Women’s Fiction/*Audiobook:
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
“We’ve been joined at the heart since she was born. Now my heart’s gone.” Lisa Wingate, Before We Were Yours.
Before We Were Yours has been out for some time (released in 2017) and was a bestseller in all the places. But it’s one of the best Audibles I’ve ever listened to, and I would be remiss not to mention it for those who haven’t read it.
The above quote, again, encapsulates the heart of the book. It’s about a family torn apart through a string of underhanded and unethical adoptions. Another dual point of view narrative, this one packs a bit of mystery.
The story follows twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her siblings (circa 1939) as they are deceptively yanked from their parent’s humble river shanty and placed for adoption in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, a nefarious institution.
The other point of view character is Avery Stafford, a present-day woman of a politically influential family, who happens upon a thread of the Foss children’s history. Pulling on it uncovers ties to her own family; ties that could potentially blight their reputation.
The story is inspired by the true history of a Tennessee orphanage during the same time period. It’s both horrifying and sobering.
Lisa Wingate went on to write a follow-up book with author Judy Christie titled Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. For more information on that title (also on my TBR list), here is an interview with Lisa Wingate.
Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber narrate this book, and it is some of the best I’ve heard…and I’m picky. The story is insanely compelling. I listen to audiobooks while I walk, and I took extra spins around the block on more than one occasion with this one.
I couldn’t stop listening!
If you are both an audiobook and print reader, I absolutely recommend going with the audiobook on this one.
*Child abuse is portrayed in this book.
So, a few thoughts to conclude the recommendations.
Both these stories deal heavily with human-kind’s natural disposition to partiality and pre-judgement and determining the value of others based on those preferences and judgements.
What’s more, the narratives expose what happens when people take the lives of others into their own hands as a result. In short, the books consider what happens when humans count their own opinions as significant as God’s and then act on them.
The fallout of such behavior is the destruction of lives, as these stories and history can testify. Eugenics, genocide, racism…
The thing to consider is this: humans have not changed. We are still prone to partiality, pre-judgement, and superiority complexes. Stories like Only the Beautiful and Before We Were Yours can help us reflect and consider our own culture’s tendencies in that direction.
But hopefully, we search our own hearts, too. Value judgements left unchecked lead us to ungodly places.
That’s it for this post, friends. I hope you read these titles! In my opinion, they are both worthy of your time.
Blessings in books,
Tiffany