The Book of Lost Friends: A Novel

I finally read this book. An amazing journey in history, unveiling some of the many horrific secrets families kept, covering up sin for the sake of pride and the power to do the unthinkable. This story takes place in 1875 and 1987…a decade after the Civil War, when civil unrest and struggle still gripped the south and the late 80s when speaking the truth of our history, no matter how ugly it is, began to shed light in the darkness. A story of finding and defining family. Thank you, Lisa Wingate.

4.5 stars. Weaving back and forth in time, The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate is a captivating novel that is based on factual events. In 1875, freedwoman Hannie Gossett is living on the plantation where she was enslaved and working hard to fulfill the sharecropping contract. Fearing her former mistress will destroy the contract, Hannie follows the owner’s daughter Lavinia Gossett and Lavinia’s Creole half sister Juneau Jane in order to protect her land. Emancipation may have freed her, but Hannie is well aware of the risks she is facing on what soon becomes a perilous journey. Needing time for Lavinia and Juneau Jane to recover from a harrowing ordeal, the trio find shelter in a hidden Negro church. While staying there, the life-altering discovery of the Lost Friend ads in the Southwestern Christian Advocate gives hope Hannie hope that she will find her long missing family. As Hannie, Lavinia and Juneau Jane search for the sisters’ missing father, they begin collecting more Lost Friend ads as their journey continues. In 1987, Benedetta “Benny” Silva is the new English teacher at a poverty stricken, overcrowded school in Augustine, LA. Despairing of engaging her students, she stumbles onto an innovative idea that inspires her class to investigate the long forgotten yet all important past. With the help of family maverick Nathan Gossett, Benny has located long hidden documents that detail his family’s unpalatable history. Benny is excited about the prospect of bringing her students’ stories to life, but she meets resistance from the school board and the wealthy Gossett family who would rather keep their sordid stories from the public eye. Although initially a little slow paced, both story arcs are extremely fascinating. Hannie, Lavinia and Juneau Jane’s travels are richly detailed and paint an unvarnished portrait of life after the Civil War. The inclusion of original Lost Friend ads offers a horrifying and poignant glimpse of the buying and selling of slaves. Benny’s storyline highlights the importance of family history and the stories that are handed down from one generation to the next. The two story arcs eventually intersect in unexpected but important ways. The Book of Lost Friends is a riveting novel that shines a much needed light on an important part of American history. The characters are three-dimensional, well-developed and appealing. From the wild and dangerous Texas frontier to the hardscrabble life in Augustine, LA in the present, Lisa Wingate brings this heartfelt and emotional story vibrantly to life. A multi-faceted and educational part of history that I absolutely loved and highly recommend. I received a complimentary copy for review.

Heartwrenching and beautiful, this story touched on so many emotions. Parallel stories in post-Civil War south and a young teacher in the 80s. We follow three young women looking for family and property deeds and legal papers. During the search, they find themselves in danger and not knowing whom to trust. Along the way, they discover "Lost Friends" posts in papers and document many former enslaved people searching for family. Finding family and uncovering truths leads to many secrets. A young teacher, thrust into a classroom where children segregate themselves by class and color, tries to find a way to engage them with limited resources, children forgotten with lack of funding. Her project to get the children interested in their community, the past, and history, stirs up the surrounding area. What they uncover will forever change many and connect the dots to a part of history some would prefer to ignore. Hannie and Benny show us history cannot be swept away. This book serves to open eyes, hearts, and minds with understanding while educating us on a forgotten history in our country. May the stories not be forgotten, the names not left unuttered. **received an ARC from the publisher**