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“They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name on Earth for the last time.” ~ Bansky
A few years ago I listened to a book by Lisa Wingate on audible titled Before We Were Yours and I really enjoyed it. So when my sister in law told me about this new title by the same author I knew I would enjoy it and The Book of Lost Friends did not disappoint. It takes place in two time frames roughly a hundred years apart. The late 1800s story involves a freed slave girl searching for her family while the late 1900s storyline involves a teacher who engages her troubled students in a local history project. Wingate weaves the two time frames together in a delightful novel that not only kept me on my toes but left me with a happy lump in my throat when it arrived at its finish. Inspired by a reader who shared with her a project of the Historic New Orleans Society, Wingate takes historical newspaper ads and stitches them together throughout the novel. The novel is fiction and only inspired by historical fact. It is not historically accurate though out as the author takes liberties while writing the book. I also did not find it entirely realistic. But it is a great book that I enjoyed a great deal. It will be one of my favorite books for 2022 and I highly recommend others to enjoy it. Please click on the links above to find more detailed information and enjoy the video that follows. It is about a project similar to the one in New Orleans but taking place in Pennsylvania.
