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The Book of Lost Friends
Lisa Wingate (Goodreads Author)
4.20 · Rating details · 38,495 ratings · 4,979 reviews
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students' From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students' lives.
In her distinctive voice, Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold off.
Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and eight siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.
Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, seems suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything. ...more
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Published April 7th 2020 by Ballantine Books
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2020)
Other Editions (16)
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This is the most dull book I have ever tried to read...I'm struggling... I read the review so I'll give it a little more time...but holy cow...this is nothing like the book "Before We Were Yours." That captured my attention and kept it. This is like penance so far. I have to ask a question so here's my question: Has anyone else found this to be true with this book?
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Cathy Wow - I feel exactly the opposite. I enjoyed 'Before we were Yours", but I couldn't put down "The book of Lost Friends". It opened my eyes (and my hea…moreWow - I feel exactly the opposite. I enjoyed 'Before we were Yours", but I couldn't put down "The book of Lost Friends". It opened my eyes (and my heart) to the plight of the slaves who were scattered without any regard for their feelings. And Benny's timeline showed me that the history of the South isn't all history, there were lingering fears and prejudices from both the white and black inhabitants. I loved the book.(less)
Did anyone else wish we had more of Benny's backstory than the quick summary at the end? I was kind of left feeling like there was a whole plot there that was left out!
Julia Yes, I felt exactly the same way. And it seemed lazy for Wingate to throw in those details about Benny in the last two pages.
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Antebellum South
Antebellum, Civil War & Reconstruction Christian Fiction
· 38,495 ratings · 4,979 reviews
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Jan 14, 2020 Dorie - Cats&Books :) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: 2020-edelweiss-challenge, historical-fiction, netgalley-books
***NOW AVAILABLE***
This is a wonderful story based on true facts and records. I felt the beginning was a bit slow but this book is very much worth sticking to it. It can't and shouldn't be rushed. There is a lot of humanity and history here. Each chapter is begun with an ad from the original "Lost Friends" newspaper columns.
This story takes place in post civil war Louisiana and Texas, although the ads in the "Lost Friends" column will take us back years earlier. It's Louisiana in 1875 and we fi ***NOW AVAILABLE***
This story takes place in post civil war Louisiana and Texas, although the ads in the "Lost Friends" column will take us back years earlier. It's Louisiana in 1875 and we first meet Hanie Gossett standing behind a stockade log fence where slaves are being held during an auction to sell some of them. She's a young girl and watches as her family is taken from her one by one. Her mama told her never to forget her family, she had made "fifteen tiny poke sacks, hung with jute strings they stole out of the wagon. Inside each bag went three blue glass beads off the string that Grandmama always kept special".
Circumstances all come together after the emancipation so that Hannie is able to escape. Hannie is going to search for her family and the other "sacks with beads". She is not alone, she has with her Lavinia Gossett, daughter of the owners and a creole girl, the illegitimate daughter named Juneau Jane. These characters come together under really unusual and incredible circumstances that I will leave you to discover.
They stumble across an old church which is papered inside with newspaper columns. At first they think this is just a covering for the walls until they read the ads and understand that this is a history of many slaves' lives. While searching for her family Hannie also looks out for those she has found are missing and Juneau Jane adds more names and ads to a book that she has created.
The other timeline is that of a young, inexperienced teacher, Benny, who is starting a new job as a teacher in an impoverished area of Louisiana where the school's curriculum has little to do with her students real life. They are often absent because there are no parents to make sure they attend school and sometimes they are needed at home to watch younger siblings. Benny is smart enough to quickly discern that she has to find a different way to get through to these kids. She talks about "The Lost Friends" newspaper columns. Once she introduces them to the book and what it is all about they decide on a project to research and reenact one of their ancestors in a program to try to raise money for the school.
Miss Wingate has again written a captivating and intelligent historical fiction novel which teaches while it takes hold of the reader's heart. I learned so much about the South post civil war and it made that history come alive for me with these characters.
I think that these characters were believable and I found both storylines to be interesting.. In the author's notes she states that the idea for the book came "to me in the most modern of ways--via e mail. The note came from "a volunteer with the Historic New Orleans Collection", she'd been entering database information gleaned from advertisements well over a century old. The goal of the project was to preserve the history of the "Lost Friends" column". From this e mail and the author's imagination this novel was born.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
This book is set to publish on April 7, 2020 ...more
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Jan 22, 2020 Debra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley
Colored Tennessean (Nashville), Oct. 14, 1865
information wanted of Caroline Dodson, who was sold from Nashville Nov. 1st 1862 by James Lumsden to Warwick, (a trader then in human beings), who carried her to Atlanta, Georgia, and she was last heard of in the sale pen of Robert Clarke, (human trader in that place), from which she was sold. Any information of her whereabouts will be thankfully received and rewarded by her mother,
Lucinda Lowery,
Box 1121, Nashville, Tenn.
***Real Ad posted by a family Colored Tennessean (Nashville), Oct. 14, 1865
***Real Ad posted by a family member looking to reunite with a loved one. Just one of many ads placed after emancipation.
Can you even imagine having to write such an ad? Can you imagine having a child, a spouse, a parent, a sibling torn from your life to never have word from them again?
Can you imagine being bought and sold?
Can you imagine having family members who were slaves?
Can you imagine what it must be like to have ancestors who owned slaves?
Can you imagine going on a journey trying to find your father to have the unimaginable happen to you so that it renders you unable to function?
Can you imagine trying to inspire and motivate your students? Find a project which will make them want to learn and be proud of themselves?
Inspired by historical events, The Book of Lost Friends is a story of three women on a journey in the post-Civil war south, it is also the story of a teacher who rediscovers those women's story and its connection to her students' lives.
Louisiana, 1875 - Lavinia, a spoiled heir to a destitute plantation goes on a quest with her illegitimate Creole half-sister, Juneau Jane, and her former slave, Hannie. While Lavinia and Juneau Jane are searching for their father and their possible inheritance, Hannie desperately wants to know what happened to her mother and eight siblings who were sold before the end of slavery. Will she ever see them again? Having seen ads along the way placed by freed slaves looking for family members, she wonders, could she find them this way?
Louisiana, 1987 - Benedetta (Benny) Silva is a first-year teacher who is desperately trying to get her student's attention. Absences, hunger, and poverty keep many from getting a good education. Looking through an old plantation for books that her classroom and local library might use, she finds a book - a history of three women. Could this change everything for her class? The three women's journey changed their lives but will also have an impact on Benny and her student's lives as well.
Slow to start this book packed a powerful punch. The story is told in two timelines with the Lost Friends ads placed in between. These ads pack a powerful punch that resonates throughout the book. BTW, all the ads placed by freed slaves have been made into a book titled " Last Seen: Voices from Slavery's Lost Families"
Wingate did a great job building her plot and joining the two-story lines. They are moving and powerful. I found this book to be captivating, thought-provoking, and emotionally moving. I loved books that not only teach me something but affect me emotionally as well. Fans of Wingate and Historical fiction will find this book appealing.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. ...more
Jul 18, 2020 Angela M rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley-reviews
4.5 stars rounded up.
"Dear Editor — I wish to inquire for my people. My mother was named Mittie. I am the middle of nine children and named Hannie Gossett. The others were named Hardy, Het, Pratt, Epheme, Addie, Easter, Ike and Rose and were all my mother had when separated....My brothers and sisters, cousins and aunts were sold and carried from us...and finally in Powell town, Texas, where my mother was taken and never seen by me again...I am well, but my mother is greatly missed by me, and an 4.5 stars rounded up.
"Dear Editor — I wish to inquire for my people. My mother was named Mittie. I am the middle of nine children and named Hannie Gossett. The others were named Hardy, Het, Pratt, Epheme, Addie, Easter, Ike and Rose and were all my mother had when separated....My brothers and sisters, cousins and aunts were sold and carried from us...and finally in Powell town, Texas, where my mother was taken and never seen by me again...I am well, but my mother is greatly missed by me, and any information of her or any of my people is dearly desired." From "Lost Friends" column of the Southwestern.
Over the last several years, I've read many dual time frame novels and Lisa Wingate in her new novel, connects the time frames and stories and characters brilliantly, even though the narratives are more than a century apart. In 1875, a decade after the Civil War, in Augustine, Louisiana, Hannie Gossett, a former slave struggles to make sense and meaning of "the freedom". The share croppers on this failing plantation have worked for years to keep the land they have toiled so hard for. William Gossett, the plantation owner is missing and holds the papers that give them their rightful ownership. This is Hannie's quest until she come across in a church, ads placed by former slaves desperately seeking to find their lost family, mother's, sisters, brothers separated when sold and finding her family becomes her foremost quest. Two of Gossett's children, a daughter and his illegitimate Creole daughter are seeking the inheritance that they believe is rightfully theirs, but the papers are missing along with their father. Thrown together in an unlikely partnership these three young women set out on a harrowing journey to secure their futures.
In the second time frame in 1987, Benny Silva, comes to teach in Augustine, Louisiana. She seeks to make an impact on her unruly students, trying to get them to read, to learn. A project to get them to understand their legacy and ancestors is the spark that gets these students interested, when she finds "The Book of Lost Friends" , a compilation of the ads placed in "Lost Friends"column in the Southwestern Christian Advocate Newspaper.
While the book is comprised of these two narratives, the impact of story in my view is contained in each of these heartbreaking ads which appear at the beginning of many of the chapters, quoted from the original which did in reality appear in that paper. The injustice of it, the harsh, horrible treatment and the emotional pain of being separated from your children, your mother, your siblings, separated and sold to different slave holders will churn your stomach and knot your heart. This is a wonderfully told told story of identity, of family, of lives bound by blood, by land, by name, by the awful history of slavery. Recommended to fans of Lisa Wingate and historical fiction readers especially those with an interest in the post Civil War era.
"Dear Editor - I belonged to John Rowden of St Charles county, Missouri. I was called Clarissa. I was sold to Mr. Kerle, a planter. My mother was named Perrine. I was the youngest of mother's first children. ...I was eight or nine years of age when sold. ...I am alone in the world, and it would be a great happiness to me to know that I had some living kinfolks..."
From "Lost Friends" column of the Southwestern.
I received a copy of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. ...more
Apr 07, 2020 Paige rated it liked it
Shelves: historical-fiction, women-s-fiction
Told in dual timelines, Hannie is an 18 year old slave living during the Reconstruction Era in Louisiana in 1875. Having been taken from her family before slavery ended, Hannie joins the plantation owner's daughters on an odyssey of sorts to find the two girls father while Hannie herself quests to find her own mother and siblings. Benny is a first year teacher in 1987 who wants to make a difference in the lives of her Louisiana students. Benny is working on a school project about local family li Told in dual timelines, Hannie is an 18 year old slave living during the Reconstruction Era in Louisiana in 1875. Having been taken from her family before slavery ended, Hannie joins the plantation owner's daughters on an odyssey of sorts to find the two girls father while Hannie herself quests to find her own mother and siblings. Benny is a first year teacher in 1987 who wants to make a difference in the lives of her Louisiana students. Benny is working on a school project about local family lineage when her timeline crosses Hannie's past.
It was very slow moving and I really struggled with the pacing. The beginning really dragged, but around chapter 9 something happens and it picks up....momentarily. After that moment of excitement, I found myself twiddling my thumbs for quite a few chapters waiting for the story to progress. It had a few more moments of ups, but most of the time I felt disinterested because it was so wordy.
Hannie's story was powerful, and I wanted more from her. I didn't look forward to Benny's chapters as much as Hannie's.
Graphic violence and gory details are completely left out. There is a scene that hints that something derogatory happened, but it must be inferred by the reader.
I would describe this as a lighter historical fiction about family, courage, loss, and friendship.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. Opinions are my own. ...more
Mar 30, 2020 MarilynW rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley-2020, netgalley, traveling-sisters-read
The Book of Lost Friends has become my favorite historical novel and, in fact, one of my favorite books that I've read. The book includes actual ads that were published in Southern newspapers and read to black congregations by their preachers, searching for relatives of former slaves. The last time many of these people saw their families was in sale pens and auction yards, as they were being sold off to new owners, one or two at a time, dividing families forever, with no way of ever finding eac The Book of Lost Friends has become my favorite historical novel and, in fact, one of my favorite books that I've read. The book includes actual ads that were published in Southern newspapers and read to black congregations by their preachers, searching for relatives of former slaves. The last time many of these people saw their families was in sale pens and auction yards, as they were being sold off to new owners, one or two at a time, dividing families forever, with no way of ever finding each other again. The words are so heartbreaking, so heartfelt, and some of the ads in the book even tell of family members that has been reunited through the ads.
I read this book with the Traveling Sisters, more specifically, Mary Beth and Paige, of the TS because others are still reading it, and we discussed that all the brutality and cruelty of man is evident in a manner that doesn't stop us in our tracks. By reading the words of the actual people who lived as slaves and went through being bought, sold, traded, beaten, etc. all of it is so obvious but not gratuitous and also not so in your face you can't keep going. It's real, it happened, you feel the heartbreak of the people who are looking for their families, hoping for news, even if it's bad. Such strong people, white, black, Indian, mixed, being treated badly or treating each other badly.
The 1875 portion of the book follows former slave Hannie, white Missy, whose family had owned Hannie for her entire life, and Juneau Jane, Missy's illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister. Missy and Juneau Jane's father has disappeared and the girls need to establish their claims to their inheritance before Missy's uncles can steal their inheritance from them. When the two girls steal off on a dangerous journey that is a mystery to Hannie, she disguises herself as the wagon driver so she can make sure she doesn't lose her claim to what she's earned as an indentured servant.
In the 1987 portion of the story, young teacher Benedetta is tasked with teaching the kids of Augustine, LA, the poor kids that the rich side of town has neglected, forgotten, and expects to never amount to anything. In fact, these kids believe they will never amount to anything and have never even thought of trying to dig out of the hole of their poverty. Benny is renting a house on the land that belongs to the former plantation of Missy and Juneau Jane's father and she discovers papers that show how these children have a past and a legacy to live up to and to remember.
The book starts very slowly but I think the built up and the background is worth the time it takes to show the link of the two timelines, to bring things together. If there was anything more I'd like from the book, it would be that we got to follow Hannie, Juneau Jane, and Hannie's friend Gus, into the years after the book ended. I didn't want to leave these strong, amazing, people. Hannie and Juneau Jane, while fighting to stay alive, also bring the Book of Lost Friends to all the people they meet. And young Gus vowed to pass on what he learned from Hannie, about her missing people, wherever he went and he was one to never break a promise.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC. ...more
Feb 23, 2020 Marialyce rated it it was amazing
Shelves: books-of-2020, historical-fiction, netgalley
To tell a tale of loss is never an easy task. The heartbreaking moments are many, and the realization hits the reader that these things so well related in a fictional setting did indeed take place in our country. These are things never to be forgotten, never to be relegated to the back pages of history. These are things in which a living nightmare was experienced.
I have been having a bit of a time lately with the historical fiction genre. I have found it to be more on the fiction end of 4.5 stars
I have been having a bit of a time lately with the historical fiction genre. I have found it to be more on the fiction end of things than on the historical and for me that has been disappointing. However, with Lisa Wingate's, The Book of Lost Friends, I am very pleased to have found a generous believable mixture of both history and fiction. Told in two time periods, 1875 and 1987, we are transported to Louisiana. It is ten years after the Civil War and the slaves have been emancipated but in essence while they are free their struggles have not abated. It is the South with the attitude of the Klan running rampant. It is also the South where slave families have been brutally separated never to see their loved ones. Sisters, brothers, parents, grandparents have been torn from each other and not a day goes by where one of our main protagonists does not feel that all encompassing loss.
Hannie, the former slave, now sharecropper, and two women, Lavinia, the heiress to a run down plantation and her half sister, Juneau Jane, a mixed race child, set out upon a journey to find their father, to settle an inheritance, meeting dangers along the way and hardship. Hannie, rekindles, as they travel, that question that plagues her constantly, could my family, that was torn from me and sold off, be out there? Hannie so desires connections just as the two half sisters do. Hope dwells in the heart of Hannie and of course the sisters as well. As they travel the book of lost friends takes on a great importance for it is in that book that people pour out their loss of family pining for the time when they can reunite with loved ones. The people in the book pledge their anguish which is then printed in a paper distributed to churches far and wide and read aloud in churches. Names are read, lineages are given, and perhaps some day families and loved ones will be reunited.
The other part of the book which alternates with the 1875 component, deals with a teacher, Benedetta Silva, hoping to cancel her student debt by teaching in a run down poorly serviced school. She is the teacher to a group of high school age disadvantaged children who see no value in learning. She becomes discouraged, disappointed, and bereft as she combats apathy, hopelessness and despair. Bennie trips onto an idea, a glimmer of something that might spur her recalcitrant students. Can a project reconnecting the kids with the past of their town, ignite something in them? It's a risk but one Bennie feels in her heart is well worth taking.
Connections are drawn, family is discovered, and there is renewed interest, understanding, and love shared as the happenings of 1875 unite with those of 1987.
I recommend this book for the gentle telling, the awakening to the horrible instances that happened to so many in our country's history, and the part that history can and does play in the realization that remembrance brings so much into our learning of life.
Thank you to Lisa Wingate, Random House-Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this wonderful book due out April 7, 2020. ...more
Jul 28, 2020 Dem rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: historical-fiction
The Book of Lost Friends is a novel inspired by historical events. The " Lost Friends" were advertisements that appeared in Southern Newspapers after the Civil War as freed slaves searched for family and loved ones who had been sold off.
We can't change our histories, but we can own them, learn from them and educate our children
Having really enjoyed Lisa Wingate's I was really looking forward to this novel as the premise is so interesting. What an engaging and compelling novel this was, The Book of Lost Friends is a novel inspired by historical events. The " Lost Friends" were advertisements that appeared in Southern Newspapers after the Civil War as freed slaves searched for family and loved ones who had been sold off.
Having really enjoyed Lisa Wingate's I was really looking forward to this novel as the premise is so interesting. What an engaging and compelling novel this was, and you can't help but be moved by this story. There are two compelling stories to 'The Book of Lost Friends' Louisiana 1875 and the story of three young women who set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest and Louisiana 1987 and the story of Benedetta Silva, a teacher in a poor rural school in Augustina, Louisiana. But where a run-down plantation home holds the century old history of three young women, a long ago journey and a hidden book that could change everything.
Slave definition......A person who is the property of another person and has to work for that person. Collins English Dictionary. How could any human being think they had/ have the right to consider another human being their property.
I love historical fiction when it can take a reader on a journey back in time, and in telling a fictional story but based on true events educate and inspire that reader. The book of Lost Friends is such a well written, heartbreaking but powerful read.
I loved the construction of the story. The author starts each chapter with the actual advertisements that were placed by former slaves who are trying to find their families.
Sometimes with historical fiction stories with two time frames can be a bit choppy and I have a tendency to lean towards the historical element of the story and get a little bored of the modern part, but not so with this novel, but stories are equally entertaining and held my interest.
An uplifting read and a book I will be recommending to many of my friends.
I listened to this one on audio and the narrators were excellent. My only disappointment is that I don't have a hard copy for my real-life bookshelf. ...more
Sep 07, 2020 Jen rated it really liked it · review of another edition
An amazing historical story based on real articles written in the late 1800's by former slaves searching for members of their families whom they were torn from.
Three women- as different as they can be - a slave, a mulatto and a white - are brought together in a perilous journey to Texas for their own truths.
Simultaneously, Benny, a teacher who has just recently moved into Augustine a century later, finds ledgers of these slavers of who they were sold off to. Searching to bring some history to th An amazing historical story based on real articles written in the late 1800's by former slaves searching for members of their families whom they were torn from.
Simultaneously, Benny, a teacher who has just recently moved into Augustine a century later, finds ledgers of these slavers of who they were sold off to. Searching to bring some history to the community, this is a search for roots- for families who once existed. She and her class become the voices of these lost people.
Wingate weaves a spell in every chapter making me want to continue with one character and then immersing me in the next one. Well done.
And Hannie...a spectacular character. A woman of strength, integrity and relentless pursuit in locating the matching her blue beads of hope to find her own lost friends.
4.5⭐
Mar 24, 2020 Carolyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley-2020, historical, netgalley, 2020, racial-issues
Lisa Wingate has woven together two wonderful stories to make this absorbing historical novel set in 1875 and 1987.
Following the abolition of slavery in America, many freed slaves had no idea where there families were as they were previously sold off and dispersed by their owners. In 1875 young Hannie is the last of her large family left on the Louisiana cotton farm where they were slaves. Accidently forced to accompany her previous owner's daughter, Lavinia and half daughter, Juneau Jane on a Lisa Wingate has woven together two wonderful stories to make this absorbing historical novel set in 1875 and 1987.
Following the abolition of slavery in America, many freed slaves had no idea where there families were as they were previously sold off and dispersed by their owners. In 1875 young Hannie is the last of her large family left on the Louisiana cotton farm where they were slaves. Accidently forced to accompany her previous owner's daughter, Lavinia and half daughter, Juneau Jane on a quest to look for their father, she wonders if any of her family are still alive and looking for her. Along the way she discovers a Southern newspaper that publishes a column of ads called "Lost Friends" published for freed slaves looking for their families.
In 1987 a young teacher, Bennie Silva is trying to get her disengaged students in an impoverished rural Louisiana school interested in reading. She discovers that her students don't know anything about their family trees but are fascinated to learn about their ancestors and their lives. With many of the students being the descendants of slaves they soon become engaged in researching the stories of the freed slaves who stayed in the area and Hannie's story comes to life.
This is a wonderful, well written and heartfelt novel with very realistic characters. Both stories made for compelling reading, particularly as they were based on real history from a time I knew very little about.
With many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for a digital copy to read. ...more
Oct 22, 2020 Liz rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: library, audio
3.5 stars, rounded up
Thank heavens for other GR reviews that mentioned that this book starts slow and to stick with it. Because it definitely was a slow start for me. But I'm glad I stuck with it. It's an interesting story with enough historical facts to be educational. I loved the premise of this story. It's so obvious that after the civil war, freed slaves would look to find family, no different than the Holocaust survivors 80 years later. But this is the first book I know of that has tackled 3.5 stars, rounded up
Thank heavens for other GR reviews that mentioned that this book starts slow and to stick with it. Because it definitely was a slow start for me. But I'm glad I stuck with it. It's an interesting story with enough historical facts to be educational. I loved the premise of this story. It's so obvious that after the civil war, freed slaves would look to find family, no different than the Holocaust survivors 80 years later. But this is the first book I know of that has tackled the subject. And Wingate's use of actual ads placed brought a real poignancy to the story.
We hear from Hannie, a freed slave and sharecropper that ends up in an Odyssey in an attempt to track down her sharecropper contract. Before she knows how, she's caught up with her ex-master's white and "yellow" daughters, both searching for him.
Dual timelines have been a bit overdone in historical fiction lately. The second story involves Benny, a new English teacher in Augustine, LA. In an attempt to engage her students, she starts a genealogy project with them. Benny's story helped to show how systemic racism still persisted 110 years later. But at times, it kept me thinking of Up the Down Staircase or To Sir, With Love - the single engaged teacher fighting to actually teach the kids self worth.
I was thrilled to learn that the basis of the plot came from an actual lost friends ad. As is so often the case with me and historical fiction, I liked the Author's Npte as much as the story.
You know how a narrator can make or break a book? Personally, I didn't care for the narrator who tackled Hannie's voice. Wingate writes at the end of the book about the use of appropriate language for the 1870s. It wasn't the language, but the narrator's voice often came across as more caricature than real.
I wasn't as engrossed by this book as many other reviewers. But it's an interesting story about a time that hasn't been widely tackled in fiction. ...more
Feb 27, 2020 Cheri rated it it was amazing
Shelves: louisiana, netgalley, 1870s, texas, arc, 2020, 1980s, historical-fiction
!! NOW AVAILABLE !!
History has much to teach us.
At the beginning of this book, there are notes from Lisa Wingate, about Dialect and Historical Terminology, which is where the above quote is taken from. She goes on to say: "That was one of the reasons for the inclusion of the real-life Lost Friends ads in this book. They are the stories of actual people who lived, and struggled, and who almost inadvertently left these small pieces of themselves for posterity."
Told in two different !! NOW AVAILABLE !!
Told in two different time frames, this begins with one of the Lost Friends letters to the editor, a plea to anyone reading or hearing their story, the family they seek to find some word from, or about, knowing that the possibilities are slim, and how often names were changed along the way as names may have changed along the way. Pastors were requested to read these pleas to their congregations.
"At the very least, we must tell our stories, mustn't we? Speak the names? You know, there is an old proverb that says, 'We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name.' The first death is beyond our control, but the second one we can strive to prevent."
As this story begins, the initial timeframe is 1875, in Louisiana, with Hannie Gossett sharing her story, through the retelling of a dream - a memory of when she was six years old and watching buyers gather to buy her family a little at a time, she sees them being carted off one by one and two by two, listening as her mother recites their names, and the names of those who took them, and where they were being taken. Along with Hannie, the stories of Lavinia, the daughter of Hannie's former owner, along with Juneau Jane, Lavinia's half sister, the daughter of Lavinia's father and Juneau Jane's mother, who was also owned by Lavinia's father.
The other timeframe in 1987, also in Louisiana, and this time is shared through a new teacher, Benedetta, Benny, Silva, teaching students from seventh to twelfth grade. Students who don't want to be there, and frequently don't show up. She begins searching for a way to motivate these students, to reach them on some level so that they will want to learn. It is a struggle, for both the students, and the teacher, until she discovers a book that will change everything.
There's so much more, but this is the kind of story that deserves to be discovered by each reader.
Very moving stories are shared in both timeframes, and the Lost Friends letters are especially poignant, as these are letters that were written by real people who were searching for their lost loved ones – lost because their families were scattered, one from another, by those that purchased them as slaves, sending husbands away from their wives, mothers from their children.
Listen, the road seems to admonish. Listen. I have stories.
Pub Date: 07 APR 2020
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine / Ballantine Books ...more
Feb 12, 2020 DeAnn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
5 just right stars
This dual storyline book drew me in right away! I found both storylines interesting and the characters fascinating. They connected in a fantastic way and the conclusion of this book was done just right.
The storyline from the past features Louisiana and Texas post-Civil War and still a very tumultuous time in this country. We have three unlikely characters thrown together on a quest to track down the head of the Louisiana plantation. One character is Lavinia, the spoiled daughte 5 just right stars
The storyline from the past features Louisiana and Texas post-Civil War and still a very tumultuous time in this country. We have three unlikely characters thrown together on a quest to track down the head of the Louisiana plantation. One character is Lavinia, the spoiled daughter; next up is the illegitimate Creole daughter Juneau Jane; and finally, a former slave from the plantation, Hannie. These women set out on a dangerous journey to figure out what has happened to Mr. Gossett. Throw in dangerous men, marshals, soldiers, and river voyages and you have a journey to take with these young women.
We learn of the tragic past for Hannie – torn apart from her large family when she was very young as they were stolen and sold off at different auctions all through the south. This journey might shed some light and help her find some of those lost family members.
The modern-day story features a woman trying to carve a niche as a new teacher at an impoverished school in Louisiana. This town is already wary of strangers, Benny finds it tough to connect with her students who have little interest in books like "Animal Farm" and don't see the relevance to their lives today. She starts to find a way to get them all interested in their family history and hopes to connect that to writing and literature, but it stirs up a lot of the past that some in town would like to see buried and forgotten.
If you are a fan of historical fiction, this book is for you! I loved "Before We Were Yours" and this one is just as good! Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Wingate, and Random/Ballantine for an early copy of this one to read in return for an honest review. This one is out 4.7.2020 ...more
Jan 13, 2020 Laurie rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: arc-netgalley-2020
2.5 STARS rounded up! So it's with a heavy heart that I leave this not so favorable review and by the looks of it I am definitely in the MINORITY so far. I am heartbroken and disappointed that I didn't take more away from this book than I hoped to. This is my third novel by Lisa Wingate and I have absolutely adored her previous books. "Before We Were Yours" will forever be a favorite of mine. I commend these types of authors for putting in the work and research it takes to make a book like this 2.5 STARS rounded up! So it's with a heavy heart that I leave this not so favorable review and by the looks of it I am definitely in the MINORITY so far. I am heartbroken and disappointed that I didn't take more away from this book than I hoped to. This is my third novel by Lisa Wingate and I have absolutely adored her previous books. "Before We Were Yours" will forever be a favorite of mine. I commend these types of authors for putting in the work and research it takes to make a book like this as authentic as possible, Unfortunately, I continuously struggled the entire way through and had difficulty connecting to any it. From the pace, to the flow of language, it was all very disjointed for me as a reader. Of course it's well-written Lisa Wingate is a brilliant author, it just lacked anything compelling for me to keep my attention. It is a courageous story and a time in history that continues to fascinate me as a reader. The Book of Lost Friends, historically was something I had never heard of and if this book is able to bring that to light and make people aware than it prevails. I do think this book will have great success with readers but regrettably my opinion was less stellar than I would have hoped. Again a special thanks to NetGalley and the publishers at Random House- Ballantine books for providing me with an early digital copy. ...more
Laurie This has to be my most commented and liked review I have ever done. I love that this reached so many different people and I appreciate all the feedbac This has to be my most commented and liked review I have ever done. I love that this reached so many different people and I appreciate all the feedback. The Goodreads reading community is just another reason why I enjoy reading so much! ...more
Ally Agreed. I really enjoyed Before We Were Yours but found this storyline to be choppy and hard to connect with.
Apr 13, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: historical-fiction, net-galley, 2020-release, arc, own-read, read-on-kindle
When still a child Hannie had seen her complete family sold to other plantation owners, leaving her alone on the Gossett plantation, filling her days with work from dawn to dusk. Hannie had kept Miss Lavinia, daughter of the plantation owner, company as her slave when Lavinia was a baby. In 1875, at eighteen years old, Hannie accompanied Miss Lavinia and Juneau Jane, Lavinia's free-born Creole half-sister on a journey the three of them took in search of answers.
After encountering ruthless men at When still a child Hannie had seen her complete family sold to other plantation owners, leaving her alone on the Gossett plantation, filling her days with work from dawn to dusk. Hannie had kept Miss Lavinia, daughter of the plantation owner, company as her slave when Lavinia was a baby. In 1875, at eighteen years old, Hannie accompanied Miss Lavinia and Juneau Jane, Lavinia's free-born Creole half-sister on a journey the three of them took in search of answers.
After encountering ruthless men at one of their stops, Hannie became the rescuer. As they journeyed further, always on the trail of Mister William Gossett, their troubles were many. But along the way Juneau Jane started jotting in a book they named "The Book of Lost Friends" where advertisements were published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate, a Methodist newspaper, and the many names and details which were collected, paralleled Hannie's own story of losing her Mama and eight siblings.
Benedetta Silva arrived in Augustine, Louisiana in 1987 for her position at the local school. Benny was an English teacher, and at first, she didn't think it was the job for her. The children took no notice of her, but she knew if she didn't find the answers, she would be out of a job. The Mississippi river town had a history, and when she discovered the old Gossett homestead near to the cottage she was renting, Benny was intrigued. Gradually, Benny and her students discovered a story of ancestors – a story of three young women, a long and tragic journey, and a book…
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate is a heartfelt, intriguing story of the days of slavery, the Civil War, and connections. A story of cruelty, of sadness, of heartbreak – and a string of beads. I found Hannie to be an amazing character; her courage and determination was outstanding. The diary entries within this book are actual advertisements which were found in the "Book of Lost Friends" which Hannie and Juneau Jane carried with them throughout the journey. And the Author's Notes at the end explains how it all came about. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2020 Kerrin Parris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate unfolds two parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the 19th century after slaves have been emancipated. The prologue opens with a student who is afraid to give a speech to an audience. This scene is repeated in the epilogue. The teacher encourages her student by saying:
"Where will they hear the story if not from you—the story of being stolen away from family? Of writing an advertisement seeking any word of loved ones, and hoping to save The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate unfolds two parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the 19th century after slaves have been emancipated. The prologue opens with a student who is afraid to give a speech to an audience. This scene is repeated in the epilogue. The teacher encourages her student by saying:
"Where will they hear the story if not from you—the story of being stolen away from family? Of writing an advertisement seeking any word of loved ones, and hoping to save up the fifty cents to have it printed in the Southwestern Paper so that it might travel through all the nearby states and territories? How will they understand the desperate need to finally know, Are my people out there, somewhere?"
The first story is set in 1875. It is narrated by Hannie Gossett, a former slave on the Gosswood Plantation in Augustine, Louisiana. The plantation's owner, Mr. Gossett has been gone a little too long, and there is a worry that he has died in Texas. Hannie wants to find the sharecropper papers showing the land she and her friends have been working will belong to them next year. Through a series of unfortunate events, Hannie ends up on a wild journey with Lavinia, the plantation owner's legitimate daughter, and Juneau Jane, his illegitimate half-black daughter. Hannie continues on the journey propelled by her hope of finding her family that she was torn away from during slavery. I especially enjoyed the part of the journey through Fort Worth, Texas which was known as "Hell's Half Acre" because of the violence and lawlessness.
The contemporary story is set in 1987. It follows first-year teacher Benedetta "Benny" Silva who has just moved to Augustine, Louisiana from California. She is an English teacher who needs to work at a low-income school for debt forgiveness of her student loans. Augustine is a town where people are immediately divided into groups based on race and income. The students at Benny's are unruly and uninspired. One of the students tells her about a library full of books at an abandoned plantation house. Benny gets permission from the young grandson who has inherited the house to use the books in her classroom. The library contains records of slave births, sales, and deaths. From there, an idea springs to life to have Benny's students research their family history and give a live presentation of their findings. However, many in the community do not wish for that history to be remembered.
The author begins each chapter with actual advertisements that were placed by former slaves who are trying to find their families. These are very poignant.
5-Stars. Book Club Recommended. This will definitely be one of my favorite reads of 2020. ...more
Apr 24, 2020 Faith rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley, overdrive, audio, reviewed
"Dear Editor—I wish to inquire for my people." After the Civil War ended, many former slaves were desperate to find family and friends from whom they had been separated when they were sold. The Southern Christian Advocate newspaper provided a space to publish letters (some of which are quoted in this book) from the seekers asking for any information as to the whereabouts of the missing. These letters were a brilliant idea.
This book is written in dual time periods. Generally, I find that to be a "Dear Editor—I wish to inquire for my people." After the Civil War ended, many former slaves were desperate to find family and friends from whom they had been separated when they were sold. The Southern Christian Advocate newspaper provided a space to publish letters (some of which are quoted in this book) from the seekers asking for any information as to the whereabouts of the missing. These letters were a brilliant idea.
This book is written in dual time periods. Generally, I find that to be a strictly commercial decision rather than a literary one. Dual time period books seem to sell extremely well, even when one time period is totally unnecessary. In this case, I initially thought the story set in 1987 was a waste of time. It involves Benny Silva, a new high school English teacher in Augustine, Louisiana. The beginning of the book was very slow, and I skimmed the Benny chapters until around the 38% point when the author finally linked her story with the much more compelling story set in 1875. In 1875, 3 teenaged girls go on a journey to find the father of 2 of the girls. It is told from the point of view of Hannie Gossett an indentured servant and former slave who hasn't seen her mother or siblings since she was six years old. Hannie works for the father of Missy Lavinia Gossett. He also fathered an illegitimate mulatto daughter, Juneau Jane.
During their journey from Louisiana to Texas, Hannie and Juneau Jane compile a list of the Lost Friends notices and also added to the list by helping people they met to write their own letters to the newspaper. This search for heritage becomes linked to a class project that Benny creates to engage her indifferent students. The Lost Friends letters continued to resonate in the present.
The actual Lost Friends letters were very moving and Hannie's journey was entertaining. I could have done without the first third of Benny's story, the not-so-surprising secret she had been carrying around and her tepid (but apparently compulsory) romance with one of the current Gossetts.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. ...more
Apr 21, 2020 Tammy added it · review of another edition
Shelves: dnf
Contrary to other readers I just couldn't finish this. The story line did nothing for me, the characters were flat, and the writing was mediocre. That's too many flaws for me to move beyond the halfway mark. I have other complaints but I'll just move on rather than rant.
Feb 02, 2020 Pam rated it it was amazing
Shelves: net-galley, 2020-netgalley
I loved this book! The Book of Lost Friends will be hard to beat for 2020. I suspect that it will be my favorite for the year.
Each chapter is written in alternating timelines. In 1875 we meet Hannie, a former slave and 1987, Benny a new school teacher, trying to get through to her kids, in a very rural area of Louisiana.
Sometimes reading books with alternating timelines like this can be very confusing and you simply wonder how they are going to intersect, WELLLLLLLLL, Ms Wingate did a wonderfu I loved this book! The Book of Lost Friends will be hard to beat for 2020. I suspect that it will be my favorite for the year.
Sometimes reading books with alternating timelines like this can be very confusing and you simply wonder how they are going to intersect, WELLLLLLLLL, Ms Wingate did a wonderful job of tying the two together. I loved everything about this book.
I knew nothing about post Civil War and the "Lost Friends" newspaper article. Apparently, the freed slaves would post family names in the hopes of reconnecting with family members that had been ripped from their lives. These posts would circulate through the Black churches to be read by the pastor. The chapters that begin with the "lost friends" adds were heartbreaking.
I rarely (almost never) quote from books that I read, however, this is a quote that has stayed with me: "We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name."
Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in April 2020. ...more
May 07, 2020 Whitney rated it really liked it
Overall: A well written and gripping dual timeline account centered on a small town in Louisiana in post Civil War and (close to) present day. Well developed characters and a plot that captures and holds you in. Highly recommend to fans of historical fiction. 8.5/10 or 4+/5
Triggers to be aware of: rape, abuse, slavery
Summary: This is a dual timeline novel which centers on two heroines. 1875: Hannie Gosett is a freed slave who works at Goswood Grove as a sharecropper. She was separated from her m Overall: A well written and gripping dual timeline account centered on a small town in Louisiana in post Civil War and (close to) present day. Well developed characters and a plot that captures and holds you in. Highly recommend to fans of historical fiction. 8.5/10 or 4+/5
Summary: This is a dual timeline novel which centers on two heroines. 1875: Hannie Gosett is a freed slave who works at Goswood Grove as a sharecropper. She was separated from her mother and family and keeps hoping for a reunion. IIn hopes of finding her family, Hannie follows the daughters of the man who once owned her to Texas, where he disappeared thus starting an incredible adventure that will change her as well as her two traveling companions' lives. 1987- Benny Silva arrives in Augustine, LA., to teach an unmotivated and apathetic high school classroom. As a way to try and motivate and capture their imaginations, she researches Goswood Grove and finds records about Hannie's journey to Texas. The story follows both women and switches back and forth each chapter.
"The great thing about literature is that it's subjective. No two readers read the same book, because we all see the words through different eyes, filter the story through different life experiences."
I loved the writing in this book. The author has an amazing way of capturing your senses and making you feel like you are actually at whatever location she is describing, yet does it without being too flowery in her writing style. I really liked both main characters as well as their accompanying storylines, and felt myself engaged (especially in the second half) and wanting to know what happens. Based on true stories and facts, I really enjoyed the real newspaper clippings from the Book of Lost Friends throughout the book. Engaging, fast paced, overall an easy yet interesting and gripping read.
The Bad: I felt there was overall a lack of depth in some areas. Never felt particularly attached to either of Hannie's travel companions. My other major critique were the romances, especially the one in Hannie's storyline.
Favorite Quotes:
"We encourage vigorous debate. Civil debate is a healthy and democratic process. If one cannot make one's point without yelling, name-calling, or insulting others, one should develop a stronger argument before speaking further."
"We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name.' The first death is beyond our control, but the second one we can strive to prevent." ...more
Nov 13, 2020 Cathrine ☯ rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: buddy-read
This was a second Buds & Books read with Kathleen and Carmel.
I liked this historical fiction story and the inspiration behind it. I had some issues but overall appreciated the author's intention to find and bring to light the history of the Lost Friends newspaper postings. While not a fan of dual time line formats, it was easy to follow and I felt both the story-lines were equally interesting. Any fan of the genre would appreciate this one. 4★
I liked this historical fiction story and the inspiration behind it. I had some issues but overall appreciated the author's intention to find and bring to light the history of the Lost Friends newspaper postings. While not a fan of dual time line formats, it was easy to follow and I felt both the story-lines were equally interesting. Any fan of the genre would appreciate this one. ...more
Jun 01, 2020 MicheleReader rated it it was amazing
Rated 4.5 rounded up.
In Lisa Wingate's last book, Before We Were Yours, we learned about the heart-wrenching and true circumstances involving the Tennessee Children's Home Society. It is an incredible book. Wingate's latest, The Book of Lost Friends, which is also inspired by true stories, is another winner.
It's 1875 in Augustine, Louisiana. Hannie and her family were slaves to the Gossett family at Goswood Grove, their plantation. After slavery was abolished, the family was abducted and tragic Rated 4.5 rounded up.
It's 1875 in Augustine, Louisiana. Hannie and her family were slaves to the Gossett family at Goswood Grove, their plantation. After slavery was abolished, the family was abducted and tragically sold to different families in Texas. Only Hannie was returned to the place she was raised vowing to find her lost family one day. She is now 18 years old and while free, her life has barely changed. She finds herself in a dangerous journey to Texas with the plantation owner's daughter Lavinia and her half daughter, Juneau Jane looking for their missing father. Hennie is hoping to locate any lost family members. While traveling, they learn of a newspaper that lists letters written by people also seeking lost family. The paper is sent to area pastors to read the letters to their congregations. Hennie is inspired by these stories and hopes to be able to place her own letter in the paper one day.
In 1987, Benny (Benedetta) Silva, a young English teacher, takes a new job in Augustine where the high school has limited resources and the children, mostly from poor homes, are not focused on education. The Gossetts remains a powerful force in Augustine. Benny is renting a house on the former plantation. In an effort to connect with the students, she creates a project where they research their own histories. She learns that many of her students are descended from Goswood Grove's slaves. The elder Gossetts are unhappy about this young, upstart and want the family's history to remain buried.
Many of the actual letters published in the Southwestern Christian Advocate are included in the book. Be sure to read each one. Hattie's letter and her family are fiction but were inspired by a real family.
This story is tragic yet uplifting. The characters are strong and remarkable.
An old proverb is noted twice in the book, "We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name." The Book of Lost Friends reinforces the importance of remembering those who came before us and the need to honor our past. And most importantly, the history and horror of slavery needs to be told time and time again.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com. ...more
Apr 02, 2020 Mary Jackson _TheMaryReader rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Nothing that I say will do this book and justice. I can't even find the words to write to explain how great this book is.
This was a hard typic to write about in the first place but Wingate never disappoints.
I can't write a review for this book, but to say if you only read one book this year let it be this book.
I gave if 5 stars two times and I HIGHLY recommend this book.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed Nothing that I say will do this book and justice. I can't even find the words to write to explain how great this book is.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own. ...more
Aug 25, 2020 Dale Harcombe rated it really liked it · review of another edition
The story starts with a prologue of a girl starting to tell the story of Hannie Gossett, before it flips back to 1875 and a letter published in Lost Friends. Lost Friends is for people who are missing family members and it is read out in churches and printed in the Southwestern Christian Advocate a Methodist newspaper. Hannie Gossett, a former slave, now a share cropper, has no idea where most of the rest of her family are since they were taken away and sold. And what really happened to Miss Lav The story starts with a prologue of a girl starting to tell the story of Hannie Gossett, before it flips back to 1875 and a letter published in Lost Friends. Lost Friends is for people who are missing family members and it is read out in churches and printed in the Southwestern Christian Advocate a Methodist newspaper. Hannie Gossett, a former slave, now a share cropper, has no idea where most of the rest of her family are since they were taken away and sold. And what really happened to Miss Lavinia and Juneau Jane, half-sisters and daughters of William Gossett? As well as Hannie's story, the reader also hears about teacher Benedetta (known as Benny) Silva in Louisiana 1987. Benny is desperately searching for a way to interest her students in learning. Since many of her students appear to be descendants of the slaves, she comes up with the idea of linking learning to real life stories and history of the area. But she needs some support. Can an unlikely source in Nathan Gossett help her?
Told in two time lines which alternate we have the story of Hannie Gossett in 1875 and of Benny and her poverty stricken students in 1987. It is apparent from the start that the two will connect. I found both stories interesting though I did find the pace a bit uneven in that it dragged a little at times but then picked up at other times. Watching the way the relationship between Hannie, and Miss Lavinia and Juneau Jane change over the course of events and the dramas that unfold on their travels to find out about William Gossett is interesting. The amount of research that has no doubt gone into this is amazing and I appreciated learning about some of these historical events that, as an Aussie, I knew little about. I really liked Hannie and Bennie, and applauded the way as a young teacher Benny sought to find ways to engage her students and refused to be distracted by obstacles. Both Hannie and Benny were very strong characters. While I found it interesting and certainly very readable there were times when it just seemed it was taking ages to read. Perhaps that could be my frame of mind at the moment. Other times I couldn't wait to pick it back up again.
So far, I have only read one other book by this author Before We Were Yours, which I loved. I expected to love this one too after the great reviews I had seen. While I am glad I bought it and have read it, and would definitely recommend it, I didn't love it quite as much as the other book. However it is still a very worthwhile read that captures the horrors of slavery and the treatment people endured back in the 1800s. If only we could say all those racial problems and attitudes have been eliminated. But well done to an author who not only seeks to educate and enlighten but at the same time tells a great story that will tug at the emotions. It is worth reading the author's note at the end as well about the inspiration and how book came to be. ...more
May 07, 2020 Gloria Arthur rated it really liked it · review of another edition
⭐4 Stars⭐
The Book of Lost Friends is a wonderfully written historical novel inspired by real events and set in two timelines of 1875 & 1987.
Hannie Gossett was 6 years old when her entire family including aunts, uncles and cousins were sold off in trader yards on the road from Louisiana to Texas. They were supposed to be moved into a refuge during the American Civil War but instead they were re-sold by a deceitful man of greed, Jep Loach. All of her family members secretly carried three blue gl ⭐4 Stars⭐
Hannie Gossett was 6 years old when her entire family including aunts, uncles and cousins were sold off in trader yards on the road from Louisiana to Texas. They were supposed to be moved into a refuge during the American Civil War but instead they were re-sold by a deceitful man of greed, Jep Loach. All of her family members secretly carried three blue glass beads in a poke sack that was a sign of their own people so they could find each other again one day.
At the end of the Civil War former slaves were trying desperately to find their lost relatives that had been sold, most of them didn't know where their relatives had ended up. 'The Lost Friends' were advertisements that appeared in newspapers and they would be read out in churches to help find families torn apart to be reunited again.
Louisiana 1987 – Benny Silva is a young first year teacher who has moved into the area as she has been given a teaching position at the poor rural school there. She is trying hard to make a difference in the lives of her disadvantaged young students who come to school unfed and bored with her lessons.
Benny is feeling like an outsider to the community and is renting an old farmhouse next to a graveyard and an abandoned plantation where she finds a private library that changes everything.
Themes in this novel include slavery, poverty, loss, family separation, bravery and hope.
I wish to thank Netgalley & Quercus for a providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Apr 10, 2020 Vonda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: net-galley, so-good-i-own-it
A beautifully written historical novel set in Texas and Louisiana and told from two points of view, and two time periods. 1875, Hannie is separated from her large family and is looking to find them. 1987. Benny is a single teacher making a powerful difference in the small community.
It's a story of slavery and searching for lost friends, family members...loves. Amazingly it includes actual ads that were published in Southern newspapers and read to black churches by their preachers for those sea A beautifully written historical novel set in Texas and Louisiana and told from two points of view, and two time periods. 1875, Hannie is separated from her large family and is looking to find them. 1987. Benny is a single teacher making a powerful difference in the small community.
It's a story of slavery and searching for lost friends, family members...loves. Amazingly it includes actual ads that were published in Southern newspapers and read to black churches by their preachers for those searching for relatives of former slaves. The last time many of the people had seen their families were in sale pens or auction yards being sold off to separate owners one or if they were lucky two at at a time. On the bright side some of the ads told of reunions, but regardless of the ad they were all heartfelt and heartbreaking. ...more
Dec 01, 2020 Deacon Tom F rated it it was amazing
This is truly an outstanding book - a true winner!
"The Book of Lost Friends" by Lisa Wingate is a remarkable piece of writing. Wingate goes beyond just telling a tale to weaving two stories into one. At one point I wasn't sure where we were going but as soon as the connection started the book bloomed like the flowers in spring.
In general, this is a song to humanity a story that gives honor to people who were born in slavery and lost many of the our friends and family members. Next, it connects t This is truly an outstanding book - a true winner!
In general, this is a song to humanity a story that gives honor to people who were born in slavery and lost many of the our friends and family members. Next, it connects to modern-day students who do not have a an appetite for reading. A brand new teacher with a dream connects these children/young adults to the book of lost friends .
In this time of racial tension and pointing fingers at each other, this book moves us forward to heal and show how generations can work together to right wrongs of the past.
I absolutely love this book. Stop what you are doing and go out and get it. You won't regret it! ...more
Nov 11, 2020 MissBecka Gee rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: z2020-books-i-read, audio-books, completed-library-rentals
I enjoyed both the timeline of the past & the modern storyline.
It felt like two completely unconnected plots though ; I think I would have enjoyed it more if there had been more obvious links while reading them.
Mar 31, 2020 Sharon Metcalf rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: owned, 2020, netgalley
Lisa Wingate sure does deliver when it comes to blending historical and contemporary fiction. Though she's authored more than 30 books the only two I've read have both been in this format and I've loved them both. The first was Before We Were Yours which I read in 2017 and, unlike many I've read in the three years since, my recollection of it remains vivid. Now having just finished The Book Of Lost Friends I feel sure I'll be able to say the same thing of this title many years down the t Lisa Wingate sure does deliver when it comes to blending historical and contemporary fiction. Though she's authored more than 30 books the only two I've read have both been in this format and I've loved them both. The first was Before We Were Yours which I read in 2017 and, unlike many I've read in the three years since, my recollection of it remains vivid. Now having just finished The Book Of Lost Friends I feel sure I'll be able to say the same thing of this title many years down the track. In both cases her novels have built upon factual events. As one of the two main characters pointed out about history
... Just because we're not always happy with what's true doesn't mean we shouldn't know it. It's how we learn. It's how we do better in the future. Hopefully."
So very true and, as this was in part one of Wingates goals, she has surely succeeded with this wonderful book.
Set in the post Civil War era of 1875 Louisianna, Hannie Gossett had spent the past twelve years separated from her mother and eight siblings. Together they had been slaves at the Coswood Grove Plantation but when Hannie was only six her family was all stolen then sold off. She alone was returned to her master at the Plantation and since that day three glass beads on a leather strap around her neck and her memories have been her only source of hope that someday they'd be reunited. Now at age eighteen she finds herself in the midst of a life threatening escapade - one born of both curiosity and a misplaced sense of responsibilty for Missy Lavinia, daughter of the master and mistress of the Plantation. On the run and holed up in a remote cabin Hannie first learnt of the Lost Friends advertisements in the Southwestern Christian Advocate. These advertisements provided a possibility for indivuduals to locate the families they'd been separated from and gave Hannie enormous hope that someday she too might find her own "lost friends".
In 1987 Benny Silva is a first year teacher who has agreed to spend five years in a low income high school in Loisianna in exchange for wiping out her student debt. To say she's struggling to make a connection with her peers and her students is an understatement. However Benny is not a quitter and she's determined to provide these kids with the education and opportunities they deserve. Her love of books and newfound interest in the local history gets the children interested but ruffles the feathers of the owners of the Coswood Grove mansion.
I really enjoyed the dual timelines and was engaged in both stories. I particularly liked the inclusion of actual Lost Friend advertisements which worked in two ways for me. Firstly they acted as a signal for when the story was about to alternate from the past to the present. Secondly, they stimulated my mind to think about the incredible number of families who had been wrenched apart and to consider their slavery stories.
As another character in this novel said"Sad thing when stories die for the lack of listenin' ears." Bravo Lisa Wingate for breathing life into the Lost Friend stories and for bringing them to thousands of listening ears. Thanks too to Quercus and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide. ...more
Apr 04, 2020 Karren Sandercock rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: netgalley, edelweiss-above-the-tree-line
Hannie Gossett is a young eight year old girl caught up in a terrible situation, she's waiting to be sold in a slave pen, and she has slowly witnessed her entire family been torn apart by greed and slavery. Her mother Mittie, her Aunt Jenny, her brothers, sisters and cousins had all been sold and scattered all over the country as they reluctantly traveled west. Her mama told her to never to forget her family, she gave each of them a little sack with three blue glass beads to link them together f Hannie Gossett is a young eight year old girl caught up in a terrible situation, she's waiting to be sold in a slave pen, and she has slowly witnessed her entire family been torn apart by greed and slavery. Her mother Mittie, her Aunt Jenny, her brothers, sisters and cousins had all been sold and scattered all over the country as they reluctantly traveled west. Her mama told her to never to forget her family, she gave each of them a little sack with three blue glass beads to link them together forever and to remember how much she loved them all.
Louisiana 1875, Hannie is still plagued by terrible nightmares of her entire family being sold; she desperately wants to find them, she has been working hard as a sharecropper and she should own the land in a years time. She finds herself saving two two young women from awful fate and Missy and Juneau Jane are both connected to a southern plantation called Goswood Grove House in Augustine. The girls are half sisters; both share the same father William Gossett and have different mothers. The three girls embark on a dangerous journey traveling to Texas; the two sisters want to find their father, to determine which one of them will inherit his plantation and Hannie wants to know if she owns the land she has been working hard to earn for almost 10 years.
After the end of the American Civil War, so many former slaves wanted to desperately find their families and relatives that had being sold and scattered all over the south. Most had very little information about where their parents, husbands, wives, children, brothers and sisters could be. The Lost Friends advertisements appeared in newspapers, black preachers would read out the columns in churches in the South, it was one way of trying to find members of families torn apart by slavery and finally reunite them.
Louisiana 1987, Benedetta Silva is a young teacher, she needs to pay her student loan and she's employed to teach at a poor school in Augustine. Her students are stuck in the cycle of poverty, they often miss school and much to Benny's horror they're sent to school hungry. They find Benny's lessons boring she needs a way to get through to these kids; the school has little resources and especially books. She contacts Nathan Gossett her reluctant landlord, about using the books she discovers left abandoned in a library in an old plantation house he inherited. Once she, Nathan and her students start to delve into the past, they discover long lost links between the old plantation, residents of Augustine and their teenage children.
The Book of Lost Friends has a dual timeline its goes between 1875 and 1987 at first I found it very confusing, I wasn't sure if I would like the book at all and I decided to keep reading. I'm glad I did, as once it's was all linked together at the end of the story it all makes sense and you understand why Lisa Wingate used two timelines. Its story about slavery, loss, separation, family, love and a new generation discovering hope. I gave the book four stars, I have shared my review on Goodreads, NetGalley, Edelweiss, Twitter, Australian Amazon, Kobo and my blog.https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/ ...more
Apr 24, 2020 Dianne Winter rated it did not like it · review of another edition
I am so disappointed. I loved "Before We Were Yours" so much, and I struggled so hard to even finish this book. I think the Hannie chapters, in particular, were difficult to get through. It was endlessly descriptive about unnecessary details, and while of course I understand the use of dialogue true to the time and place, it really made it hard to follow. Especially since you were back and forth between the two time periods every single chapter - you couldn't settle in to a particular time perio I am so disappointed. I loved "Before We Were Yours" so much, and I struggled so hard to even finish this book. I think the Hannie chapters, in particular, were difficult to get through. It was endlessly descriptive about unnecessary details, and while of course I understand the use of dialogue true to the time and place, it really made it hard to follow. Especially since you were back and forth between the two time periods every single chapter - you couldn't settle in to a particular time period before you were transported forward or back.
And then the reveal at the end about Benny? What?! Tell me earlier in the story so it can be part of her character development or don't include it at all. ...more
Hannah-Grace I felt the same way about the ending!
Jennifer Leonard A million times yes about the Benny twist! In all her internal dialogue, she's not going to mention that? Plus, does it even add to the story? If ther A million times yes about the Benny twist! In all her internal dialogue, she's not going to mention that? Plus, does it even add to the story? If there's supposed to be a connection between that revelation and say, the "lost friends," it's a stretch. ...more
Jan 13, 2021 08:38PM
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January Appleton B&N Book Club 1 1 Jan 04, 2021 06:05AM
Oregon Public Lib...: The Book of Lost Friends [January 2021] 1 3 Dec 01, 2020 03:54PM
BOOK CLUB 2020 The Book of Lost Friends 1 24 Oct 05, 2020 09:53AM
Military History > Civil War
About Lisa Wingate
Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the bestselling author of more than thirty books. Her blockbuster "Before We Were Yours" was on the NYT best seller list for over one year. Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Utah Library Award, the Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the bestselling author of more than thirty books. Her blockbuster "Before We Were Yours" was on the NYT best seller list for over one year. Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Utah Library Award, the Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Reviewers' Choice Award. Lisa believes stories can change the world. ...more
Books by Lisa Wingate
Articles featuring this book
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Trivia About The Book of Lost ...
Quotes from The Book of Lost ...
"We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name.' The first death is beyond our control, but the second one we can strive to prevent." — 12 likes
"Books made me believe that smart girls who didn't necessarily fit in with the popular crowd could be the ones to solve mysteries, rescue people in distress, ferret out international criminals, fly spaceships to distant planets, take up arms and fight battles. Books showed me that not all fathers understand their daughters or even seek to, but that people can turn out okay despite that. Books made me feel beautiful when I wasn't. Capable when I couldn't be." — 6 likes


Moho Forum • View topic - Blue Line Stretching From Origin?
Blue Line Stretching From Origin?
So I'm working on a South Park type animation at the moment and I'm trying to move around the mouth on the character's face, but it won't let me. It let me move around some of the other mouths in my mouth switch layer, but when I click on certain layers I see this tiny blue square in the center of the Origin.
And when I click on said layers and try to place them more properly centered in his mouth region...this happens.
Re: Blue Line Stretching From Origin?
This is the layer position indicator, the line shows up if that layer has different positions in different frames.
slowtiger wrote: This is the layer position indicator, the line shows up if that layer has different positions in different frames.
That's what I thought initially, but that wasn't the case. But I was able to solve the issue however. I simply attempted to move the mouth...& then when that action appeared in the timeline, I deleted it...that did the trick. Thanks for your input though. Happy new year!


text:
New Synagogue of Livorno
Piazza Benamozegh 1, 57123 Livourne
Draforia Marini and Jewish Museum
Via Micali, 21, 57125 Livorno
A visit to Livorno is required in the name of remembrance, even if the urban renewal projects of the early twentieth century around the port and the bombings of the Second World War in 1943-1944 have destroyed most of the old city center, including Jewish Livorno's Grand Synagogue. In no other Italian city did the Jews have such a significant role as in Livorno, where they were never forced to live in ghettos. They were the true founders of the city and architects of its splendor. The grand duke of Tuscany issued the edict Livornina, dated 10 June 1593, which guaranteed -for twenty-five years and with the option of the edict's renewal- the Jews free trade and the right to settle where they chose. They were not forced to wear an identifying sign as were other Jews in the duchy, and they were permitted to have Christian servants, ride in carriages, and, under Ferdinand I, were protected from the Inquisition: "During the said period we do not want any inquisition, inspection, denunciation, or accusation to be pronounced against you or your families, even if in the past they lived outside our dominions, whether as Christians or simply called such".
They were a large number of Jews of Portuguese and Spanish descent in Livorno. This small coastal city, ravaged by fevers, became, in just a few years, a flourishing port where the Jewish community had a prominent role. Spanish was the official language and Ladino the vernacular in use especially by those expelled from Spain to Thessaloniki, as with other ports of the Levant. Gradually the Livornese Jews created a new dialect, bagitto, a mix of Spanish, Hebrew, and the local dialect; it is spoken by ederly Jews of the city even today. The community reached its apogee in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its decline began with the arrival of Bonaparte's troops, however favorable this was to Jews throughout the rest of the peninsula: the blockade hurt the port. With Italian unification and the emancipation, the Jews of Livorno emigrated to Florence or Rome. By 1900, there were no more than 2500 Jews in the city, a reduction by half in fifty years. The Second World War and the Nazi deportations struck a death blow to the Jewish community of Livorno, which today is reduced to some 800 members.
Completed in 1962, the new synagogue is a concrete, futuristic edifice designed by the Roman architect Angelo Di Castro that stands in the Piazza Benamozegh (the former Piazza del Tiempo) in the location of the former synagogue destroyed by bombing in 1944. The magnificent delicately carved, gilt aron from the beginning of the eighteenth century came from the old synagogue of Pesaro in the Marches.
The Marini Oratory (Draforia Marini) is located on the nearby Via Micali. During the period after the war and until the construction of the new synagogue, the oratory served as the location of worship. AT the back of the almost square hall of the yeshiva, one can see an extraordinary gilt aron with finely carved floral decorations. It dates from the fifteenth century and probably came to Livorno with the Jews forced to flee Spain. Nevertheless, some experts date the creation of this masterpiece slightly later. The Jewish Museum is also located in this building; its collection of beautiful liturgical objects is housed in two display cases.
Tags: architecture aron ferdinand ghetto grand synagogue jewish community jewish culture jewish history jewish life jewish quarter monument new synagogue old synagogue synagogue war world war ii
Places to discover

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Employment Type: Permanent Staff (EHRA NF)
Vacancy ID: NF0004697
Salary Range: $82,100 - $130,000
Position Summary/Description:
The Senior Research Scientist serves as the lead Coordinating Center biostatistician for one or more large multi-center observational studies or clinical trials. The analysis support team typically includes one or more of the following: biostatisticians, statistical programmers, bioinformaticists, and data scientists working on the project. The Senior Research Scientist leads the analysis support team, allocating tasks to team members and mentoring the more junior staff. The position includes working with the study's CSCC Principal Investigator and Project Director/Manager as well as with investigators and staff external to UNC. The Senior Research Scientist will serve as the Project Manager for a large cloud-based, data analytics and data warehousing platform (Data Portal), in collaboration with other senior personnel, oversee a diverse project support team as described above but also including software developers, systems engineers, and cloud architects. This Data Portal will host data from a dozen of completed and ongoing research studies conducted across the US and internationally, providing secure-access and high-performance computing capabilities for approved users of those data.
Essential Qualifications:
At least 5 years of experience working in public health research and/or clinical studies after completion of master's degree, with at least 3 years at a Coordinating Center for multi-center studies.
Substantial experience using SAS, STATA, R or similar statistical analysis software.
Successful Senior Research Scientist must not only have substantial statistical and project manager experience but must also have a thorough understanding of statistical programming, best practices for data collection, data standardization, and quality assurance.
Effective interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
Experience working as a senior statistician and as a project manager on large trial or cohort multi-site studies, and preferably in a large Coordinating Center setting.
Experience developing or using cloud-based computing resources, using Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or Amazon Web Services.
AA/EEO Statement:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.
Inclusive Excellence is a core value at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. We expect our faculty and staff to actively contribute to fostering an academic workplace climate that is welcoming and supportive for all.
About The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolina rates among the nation's great institutions of higher education, set on an historic and beautiful campus that celebrates all four seasons. Carolina's students, faculty and staff come here from around the world, bringing varied cultural, racial and ethnic heritages that help make UNC-Chapel Hill a thriving intellectual center. We're repeatedly ranked the nation's best value in higher education for students seeking to earn a college degree – the University has garnered the top spot each time since the ranking's launch in 1998.Whether you've just started your career, are new to academia or are a seasoned professional with assorted campus experiences to draw on, we hope you will find a great place at Carolina.
Connections working at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


text:
(1) diacetylmorphine and (2) (5a,6a)-7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy- 17-methylmorphinan-3,6-diol diacetate (ester)
Primary Uses:
Analgesia (outside of USA)
Brand Names:
Slang:
Smack, junk, H, diesel, dope, Harry
Heroin, synthesized from morphine and acetic anhydride, was invented in 1874 by C.R. Alder Wright, an English chemist. In 1898, Bayer began marketing heroin as a non-addictive morphine substitute. Heroin was also used for a wide variety of ailments, including colds, coughs, diarrhea, and pain. The British Pharmaceutical Codex stated that heroin was just as addictive as morphine in 1911, and in 1913, Bayer stopped production of the so-called "wonder drug." About a decade later, in 1924, the Heroin Act made the sale, manufacturing, and possession of heroin illegal in the United States of America.
In the United States, this drug is a Schedule I substance, making it illegal. Schedule I substances, such as marijuana, GHB, and LSD, meet the following criteria according to the Controlled Substances Act:
The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
Some of the possible side effects of heroin are listed below:1
Euphoria or dysphoria
Reduced anxiety
Decreased libido (sex drive)
Withdrawal from heroin can occur in as little as a few hours to 24 hours after the last administration, depending on factors such as frequency of use, dosage, as well as body chemistry. Acute withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours, and are generally gone within a week; however, post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) can persist for weeks or months afterward. Withdrawal is rarely fatal, and is largely dependent upon the user's health, whereas withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines can easily result in death. Symptoms of heroin withdrawal are listed below:2
Muscle and bone pain
Goose bumps
Involuntary leg or arm movements
[1] DIAMORPHINE HYDROCHLORIDE: British National Formulary. British National Formulary. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and RPS Publishing. 2006. Accessed: November 1, 2006. (Note: See MORPHINE SALTS page.)
[2] NIDA InfoFacts: Heroin. National Institute on Drug Abuse. May 2006. [PDF] Accessed: November 1, 2006. Last Accessed: February 18, 2009.


The title of the project is "School Management system". This project will handle whole the activities of the school. SMS has most of the facilities that a modern school requires to computerize its day-to-day jobs. It provides facilities to keep the records of student, fees, teaching and non-teaching staff with all their required details along with all required transaction handling. It has facilities to generate various types of reports, which are required by the management during normal business operations to operate the business effectively. Pakistan's best school Management Software, currently being used by 600+ schools & colleges across Pakistan, tested & trusted!


Nashville, TN – The American Red Cross has a severe shortage of type O blood and urges type O donors – as well as eligible blood and platelet donors of all blood types – to give now to ensure lifesaving patient care isn't impacted this winter.
Type O blood is the most in-demand blood type, helping patients facing life-threatening conditions and emergencies every day.
Dallas, TX – When Elias Lugo found out he was the grand-prize winner of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service's worldwide You Made the Grade sweepstakes, he thought he was dreaming.
"I was shaking because I didn't think I actually won," he said.
Elias received his academic excellence prize, a $2,000 Exchange gift card, at a presentation February 1st, 2019 at the Fort Campbell Exchange.
Nashville, TN – For scammers, the season of holiday giving is the season of taking, and Tennesseans' hard-earned money again tops scammers' wish lists. Unfortunately, Tennessee consumers are falling for scammers' ploys when it comes to gift card swindles in increasing numbers.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s Consumer Sentinel Network reports Tennesseans lost nearly $1 million – over $943,000 – through prepaid gift card scams in 2018, which is a 44 % increase compared to 2017 when scammers stole $653,709 from consumers.
Clarksville, TN – The Humane Society of Clarksville-Montgomery County invites pet owners to submit pet photos and vote for winners who will make up the organization's 2019 calendar. Deadline to enter and vote is Sunday, November 11th by 3:00pm.
Winners will be officially announced at 5:00pm the same day.
Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department announces that the eight winners and two honorary artists have completed their artwork in the Art on the Park contest at Heritage Park Skate Park.
The contest was sponsored by Clarksville's Parks and Recreation Department and Porter Paints.
Clarksville Parks and Recreation Art on the Park contest artwork by Dennis Sullivan.
Charlotte, TN – The American Red Cross, Rock Springs Free Will Baptist Church and friends and family are teaming up to host a special blood drive in honor of Emily Grace Rodgers, a resilient four-year-old battling Thalassemia Major or Cooley's Anemia, a rare blood disorder.
The community is invited to take part in this opportunity to help save lives Saturday, October 13th, from 9:00am to 2:00pm at Rock Springs Free Will Baptist Church, 1485 Hamble Road in Charlotte, TN.
Clarksville, TN – Altra Federal Credit Union will host a free Community Shred Day on Saturday, October 20th, 2018, from 9:00am to 12:00pm at their branch located at 1600 Madison Street Clarksville, TN 37040.
"In conjunction with our Founder's Week Celebration and International Credit Union Day, Altra is partnering with Shred-It to help you safely destroy unwanted, sensitive documents," said Rose Melton, Retail Market Manager for Altra Federal Credit Union.
Free Community Shred Day to be held at the Altra Federal Credit Union located at 1600 Madison Street on October 20th.
Emergency need remains; critical call for type O blood donors to donate now.
Nashville, TN – Thousands of people have responded to the emergency call for blood and platelet donations issued by the American Red Cross in early July. Still, there continues to be an emergency need for donors of all blood types, especially type O, to give now to address a severe blood shortage.
Red Cross blood donations are being distributed to hospitals faster than they are coming in, and right now there is less than a five-day blood supply on hand.