The Book of Lost Friends

(Paperback)

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain

From the author of the No.1, two million-copy bestseller Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic story of a family separated, their search for answers, and an epic journey to reunite the missing...

Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest. For heiresses Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question. Could her long-lost family still be out there

Louisiana, 1987: Arriving in Augustine, Louisiana, first-year teacher Benedetta Silva finds herself teaching students whose poverty-stricken lives she can scarcely comprehend. The town is impossibly set in its ways, suspicious of new ideas and new people. But amid the gnarled live oaks and ancient plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.

A heart-wrenching novel inspired by little-known historical events, based on actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones, lost to them when their families were sold off.

'Tragic, thought-provoking but ultimately uplifting . . . an enthralling adventure' Lancashire Evening Post

Reviews

An epic story that will stir your emotions * Woman's Weekly *
It is impossible not to get swept up in this near-perfect novel * Huffington Post *
A tale of enduring power * Paula McLain *
An uplifting exploration of what family truly means * Booklist *
Tragic, thought-provoking but ultimately uplifting, this is a sobering history lesson wrapped up in an enthralling adventure * Lancashire Evening Post *
Moving * Daily Mail *

Author Bio

Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the bestselling author of more than twenty novels. Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Reviewers' Choice Award. Wingate lives in the Ouachita Mountains of southwest Arkansas.