The Book of Lost Friends

July - The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Walking has become part of my quarantine routine. It's one of the things I can do to avoid spending all my time sitting and eating. And to keep me going, I have been listening to audiobooks as I walk through neighborhoods and wind my way along new routes.

My most recent book companion on my walks has been The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. I save most of my audiobooks and only listen to them when I walk, but I couldn't stay so disciplined with this one and found myself tuning in as I drove to the grocery store, while I folded laundry and any other spare moment.

I selected the novel because I read Lisa Wingate's previous book: When We Were Yours. I started the first chapter without so much as a glance at the premise.

The Book of Lost Friends alternates two storylines, one historical and one more contemporary. The storyline in 1875 follows eighteen-year-old Hannie Gossett, a freedwoman who works as a sharecropper on Goswood Grove plantation in Louisiana. Hannie's adventures are set in motion when she learns that the owner of Goswood Grove Plantation is missing. Hannie and a handful of others are nearing the end of their contract, meaning that they are about to secure ownership of the parcel of land they have been farming. The former master is considered a fair man, but his wife cannot be trusted. Hannie is convinced that Mrs. Gosset will try to cheat them out of the land.

When Hannie was a child, her mother, siblings, and other family members were separated and sold to various owners and plantations across the south. Hannie lives with the heartache of not knowing where her family is or how to find them. During her travels, she learns of the Lost Friends column. This newspaper publishes advertisements for former slaves seeking family and friends. So many families were separated by being traded or sold or because of the chaos of war.

The more contemporary storyline of 1987 follows Benny Silva. Benny is starting her first year of teaching English at the High School near the historic Goswood Grove Plantation. Benny is trying desperately to find a way to grab the attention of her students. Many are from families struggling economically and emotionally. The names of students in Benny's classroom and neighborhood echo the names that we hear in Hannie Gossett's storyline.

One of the values of literature and storytelling is its ability to connect us to people who are from different backgrounds or circumstances. Through story, we can travel through time. The newspaper that Lisa Wingate writes about is a real part of history. She includes excerpts of these notices seeking family members between chapters. We read postings from parents and children, brothers and sisters trying to find their family and friends. It is an authentic reminder that slavery had many consequences and repercussions that lasted long after the emancipation proclamation. Churches across the country read the newspaper notices from pulpits to spread the word to families.

Wingate has created a compelling story around these postings, these hopes of being reunited with family. She has crafted a compelling story of adventure and heartache and hope around the history of these advertisements. And while she captures the emotion of the ads, she also shows how history continues to impact the circumstances of lives far in the future. The Book of Lost Friends provides a context for the world that we live in today. It deepens our understanding of how circumstances from long ago can continue to impact lives now. This novel shares a point of view we may not have previously heard and compels us to respond with empathy and compassion.

Lisa Wingate makes us feel the hurt, feel the loss, and feel as if Hannie and Benny are our lost friends.