The Book of Lost Friends

More about the book

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a novel inspired by little-known historical events, telling the dramatic story of three young women searching for family in the post-Civil War South, alongside a modern-day teacher who uncovers their story's connection to her students' lives. Lisa Wingate vividly brings to life the "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers as freed slaves sought their loved ones. In Louisiana, 1875, Lavinia, the pampered heir to a destitute plantation, Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister, and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave, embark on a perilous quest to Texas. Each carries deep wounds and secrets as they navigate dangerous roads filled with vigilantes and remnants of a war lost a decade prior. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is driven by financial desperation, while for Hannie, who was torn from her family before slavery's end, it reignites the hope of finding her long-lost loved ones. Fast forward to Louisiana, 1987, where first-year teacher Benedetta Silva takes a job at a struggling rural school, hoping to alleviate her student debt. However, she finds herself in a town resistant to change, grappling to understand her impoverished students' lives. Amid the backdrop of gnarled live oaks and dilapidated plantation homes lies the century-old history of the three women, their journey, and a hidden book that cou