The Way I Used to Be

Description

Title: The Way I Used to Be
Author: Amber Smith
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN-13: 9780861546732

The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith is a young adult contemporary fiction novel published by Rock the Boat. The story follows Eden, a teenage girl whose life changes after she is sexually assaulted by her brother’s best friend.

Told across Eden’s four years of high school, the novel explores how trauma affects her relationships, confidence, choices, and sense of self. Eden struggles with silence, anger, friendship, heartbreak, and the painful distance between who she was and who she becomes.

This is an emotionally intense YA novel suited to older teen readers who are ready for difficult themes handled through a survivor’s perspective. It explores sexual assault, trauma, survival, identity, and the slow process of finding the strength to speak and heal.