As a general characteristic, Lisa Wingate’s books all share a touch of her chic lyrical wording, a mix of mystery – wrapped up in bits of historical allusions here and there and told in a Southern voice.
Before We Were Yours
‘Before We Were Yours’ is Lisa Wingate’s most populous novel, which has scuppered a good amount of awards and accolades following its publication in 2017. The book is a historical fiction which is in two parts, the first being the past, where Fill Foss (May) narrates touching stories of hers – and the many families impacted by the Memphis child abduction saga championed by Georgia Tann from 1929 to 1950.
The second part of ‘Before We Were Yours’ is about the present day and is packed with investigations. The reader sees this part led by the book’s protagonist, Avery Stafford, a smart, intrepid lawyer; a daughter to Senator Wells and granddaughter to Judy Stafford – one of the victims of a crime perpetrated a generation ago.
Burdened with the responsibility of unraveling the identity of these missing children and how they’re connected to her family, Avery does everything she could – including breaking up with her fiancé Elliot, to get to the root of the matter.
Tending Roses
‘Trending Roses’ is the first novel published by Lisa Wingate. Released in 2001, Lisa Wingate drew inspiration from the reality of her life and the relationship she shared with her grandmother.
Lisa Wingate once revealed that the inspiration for writing the book ‘Trending Roses’ comes from the story her grandmother told to calm her little troubled infant child. Watching and listening to her grandmother talks to the toddler, Lisa Wingate learned something that day; that even the seemingly little, insignificant things matter too.
‘Trending Roses’ follows the story of Kate Bowman, her spouse Ben, and their toddler son. After her son’s delivery, Kate is given leave to tend to her young child, but instead, she invested the time trying to convince her aged mother to let go of her Missouri home and farm as she can no longer survive alone there.
Kate and her spouse are trying to avoid an imminent financial crisis no thanks to a pile of debts and medical bills sitting on their table. Chance leads Kate to discover grandma’s old handwritten journal put away long ago. From reading it, she learns the most important things in life and how truly ignorant she has been toward them.
A Month of Summer
In this book, Lisa Wingate brings the readers into the world of her protagonist, Rebecca Macklin, who is carried far away from home by the spirit of adulthood. Rebecca stays out of touch with her family for the longest time – and feels unconcerned as she holds some resentment towards them.
But when the news of her father’s near insanity gets to her – toppled with her mother already being resigned to a nursing home, Rebecca is forced to reevaluate the place of family and ditch her ego and old grudges.
The Tidewater Sisters
‘The Tidewater Sisters’ is another one of Lisa Wingate’s books that follows the story of two sisters, Tandi Reese and Gina, whose childhood memories of their parents’ raggedness affected their sisterhood, causing a longstanding, strained relationship that does not always see eye to eye.
However, after receiving a legal paper accusing her of fraud she knows nothing about, Tandi is forced to keep her complex family issue aside and track back to North Carolina for a chat serious chat with her sister Gina. They must dig out the truth through the rubbles of their abandoned family secret in time to clear Tina’s criminal record and of course, save her wedding – which is near at hand.
FAQs
What book did Lisa Wingate first write?
‘Tending Roses’ is Lisa Wingate’s first-ever novel, written and published in 2001.
Where did Lisa Wingate get the inspiration for ‘Tending Roses’?
Wingate noted that the inspiration for ‘Tending Roses’ came from her relationship with her grandmother and how it made her reevaluate life, learning how important some things she previously neglected are.
How many books has Lisa Wingate written so far?
Lisa Wingate is a prolific writer who has written well over 30 books in total. Wingate has been writing from a younger age, so she has quite an impressive back catalog.
