By: Alisha Ahmed
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith is a heartbreaking book that chronicles the high school years of a girl named Eden, who must conceal a truth about herself that has torn her apart and altered the course of her entire life. Up until the night when her brother's best friend raped her, Eden had always been a girl who followed the rules. She was an angel child. After the traumatizing event, Eden has to overcome her personal struggles. deal with the people who she thought she could trust and find her way into surviving and trudging through high school.
Reading the book was an eye-opener and it gives an insight into how everyone reacts differently to devastating events. Eden appeared to be an outgoing, carefree girl, but on the inside, she was struggling mentally. In her high school years, Eden has to deal with her friends betraying her in high school, gossip being circulated about her, and her family not understanding that she feels defeated and fragmented. The book provides a fantastic illustration of how we usually interact and socialize with people who seem to be content and “normal,” but are dealing with their battles individually.
The Way I Used To Be is a novel everyone should read as it enables one to comprehend a human being who lives with trauma. Smith crafts a book that keeps you riveted while you are reading, and by the end, you will feel as if you have been with Eden all along.
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