The Woman I Was Before: My Review

 

The Woman I Was Before

About the Book

Of all the emotions single mother Kate Jones expects to feel as she walks into her brand-new house on Parkview Road, hope is the most surprising. She has changed her and her daughter's names and moved across the country to escape the single mistake that destroyed their lives.

But Kate isn't the only woman on the street starting afresh. Warm, whirlwind Gisela, with her busy life and confident children, and sharp, composed Sally, with her spontaneous marriage and high-flying career, are the first new friends Kate has allowed herself in years. While part of her envies their seemingly perfect lives, their friendship helps Kate to leave her guilt behind.

Until one day, everything changes. Kate is called to the scene of a devastating car accident, the consequences of which will test everything the women thought they knew about each other and themselves.

My Comments

Who are you?  If I checked your social media feeds, how accurate (or perhaps it would be better to say how complete) is the picture they paint?  Putting your best self forward is nothing new--its why we dress one way to go to a ball, another way to go to the office and yet another to clean house.  This is the story of three women who learn who the others are, even though each tries to portray an image that isn't quite true.

Kate and her neighbors have just moved into a new subdivision.  We quickly learn that Kate has a secret, a secret that has caused her to move, to change her name, and to forbid her daughter to use social media.  Kate has no friends and resists the overtures of her new neighbors but finally lets them in a little at her daughter's demand.  By the end of the book we learn her secret and to me, that whole part of the story fell flat.  

Gisela is very active on social media showing off her perfect life, but then it all comes crashing down.  Even she didn't realize what an illusion it all was.  

Sally also has a social media perfect life, sort of, but then she too finds that things aren't what they seem to be.  

By the end of the book all three women have started new chapters in their lives and while they may not be #perfect, they have #growth.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade B.