Oh, how I enjoyed this one!

Caitlin Weaver delivers a book that will keep you turning the pages. It is oozing with drama between friends and within families, whether it be marital relationships, young love, medical trauma, motherhood, substance abuse or the staying power of best friend relationships. While this is labeled family drama and mystery/thriller, I definitely feel like this is more drama.

Dana and Padma are best friends who share and talk about everything. BUT...What happens when an incident happens to one of their children, possibly as a result of the other one's mistake? Cue the drama and the angst. You'll really get the scope of how an incident can have widespread effects on everyone in the family. It's binge-worthy and conversation stimulating! Highly recommend.

Thank you to Storm Publishing for this advanced digital copy via NetGalley. These opinions are entirely my own.

Add this to your list, fellow readers.

Caitlin Weaver has officially made it to the short list of my favorite authors. Who We Used To Be was so good that I texted my bookclub and told them to read it on release day, don't wait for someone to pick it in our usual monthly rotation.

I still think of Such a Good Family and frequently recommend it to someone in a book drought. I loved this one even more. I often find myself yearning for Jodi Picoult books from the early years and Caitlin Weaver is right there.

Who We Used To Be will stick with you for a long time. While the plot on its own is great, the author's real gift is her ability to make characters so dimensional and so real you feel like you are sitting in the story with them. These feel like real people that you know and something that could happen to you. Once you make peace with those thoughts, the writing is so good you are forced to be judge and jury for these characters. You want to give them advice, you want to steer them in different directions or cheer them on. You are invested. Then when you are done you wonder how you would have handled things.

This story is book club gold and has cemented Caitlin Weaver on my list of authors where I anxiously await and seek out their next work. 5 stars simply aren't enough..

Great book. Loved the story and had a hard time putting it down. How life can change in a moment and how it's hard when you feel you need someone to blame.

Padma and Dana have been neighbours and the best of friends for years that children growing up together and their daughters being best friends as well.

But when Dana's daughter Izzy has an adverse health experience, suspicion falls upon Padma's initial diagnosis of the problem and there is a breakdown in relationships between the two families. But is Padma genuinely to blame?

And what will the consequences of pursuing action against her be for Dana, already struggling with secrets and worries of her own, and desperately in need of Padma's friendship when her marriage is crumbling?

You can always relay on Caitlin Weaver to deliver a thought provoking, intelligent and nuanced story, and this book is no exception. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley & Storm Publishing for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I ate this up in one day - SO GOOD. I’ve been fortunate enough to read every ARC Caitlin Weaver has, and it’s for good reason… she hits it out of the park every time.

A domestic drama surrounding female friendships, motherhood, and the brutal reality of moving through life while in pain. What is the right move? The next step? What if you’re facing the impossible? Weaver has this beautiful ability to paint multiple perspectives, making your heart pull in empathy as each step in the story progresses.

Two women, neighbours, fortunate enough to have a beautiful friendship as they face the ups and downs of motherhood together. One career driven, one career forced, then tragedy strikes, forcing them both to make decisions they never dreamed of while taking a good hard look at themselves and their reality.

As usual, I’d recommend giving this a read. Whenever I read anything by Caitlin Weaver, I’m sucked right in and I can’t put it down, I hope you are too!!!

Caitlin Weaver writes emotional stories so well! Dana and Padma are best friends living next door to one another. Their daughters Izzy and Maeve are best friends, Dana's son Ian (Izzy's twin) is struggling beneath the shining star of his twin. Dana is struggling financially with the business her mom gave her, while her husband Eric is "finding himself". Padma is a successful doctor working hard to achieve her goal of becoming chief of the ER.
When Izzy suffers a medical crisis, Padma is blamed for not catching Izzy's condition. Dana is convinced to sue; Padma's career is in free fall and both families suffer the fallout. This is an extremely well written book, filled with emotion, crisis, and finding the way forward. I highly recommend this book. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

Thank you to Storm Publishing for the E-ARC of this book!

I was really sucked into this story. Albeit, the beginning was a bit slow, once the accident happens, the story really starts to take hold. Padma and Dana are best friends and next door neighbors. They have raised their babies together, laughed, cried, and been each other's rock.

Padma makes a simple mistake and it causes a domino of chaos. Dana's life unravels at a startling rate between her daughter being in a coma, her business in financial ruins, and her marriage falling apart. Now she is throwing accusations at her best friend, dismantling the one steady relationship she has. A lot of this is caused by her being her own worse enemy, constantly sweeping things under the rug and not dealing with things head on.

Thank goodness we get the POV of other characters, because Dana was kind of the worst.

I loved how something so terrible changed everyone in a different way, but ended up allowing everyone to change for the better, to seek the things that matter most in life, and gain a brand new perspective.

Each character ended up a better version of themselves by the end.
Highly recommend

Dana and Padma are best friends. They watched their kids grow up together and become best friends as well. When Dana's daughter Izzy ends up in the ER, under Padma's care, disaster ensues and blame is pointed at Padma. This book entails the aftermath of that, along with POVs from Dana, Padma, Dana's son lan, who is struggling with problems of his own, and Padma's daughter Maeve (Izzy's best friend)
This poignant family drama caused me to really question what I'd do in Dana's place.
I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable, but I did find them real which was quite refreshing. I enjoyed the character arc of lan especially.
This was a heart-wrenching story that I enjoyed reading. I really liked how it all came together at the end.

The path ahead may be unclear, but you can always find a way! This book, like the statement, is a true testament to family drama, love, loss, and friendship. Caitlin Weaver’s storytelling is captivating, and I can’t get enough of her works.

Two families are torn apart by a mistake, and the question of blame lingers. The friendship of two women and their children is tested to its limits, and the reader is drawn into a whirlwind of emotions. This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good dramatic story. The characters are well-developed, and you’ll find yourself rooting for them as they navigate through the challenges they face. You’ll be so engrossed in the story that you won’t want to put it down.

This was a beautifully written book dealing with tragedy, heightened emotions and relationships. The entire book is raw and real, and will tug at your heart the entire way through. Absolutely beautiful!

This is only the second book I had read by this author, and in complete transparency, I didn’t actually really like the previous book, The Perfect Plan (personal opinion) but I'm always happy to try authors again, purely because as us readers all know, sometimes a book just isn't for us!

And my god, I am so pleased this one landed in my TBR pile! This was a total binge worthy read, and I devoured it in a couple of evenings. It was brilliantly unputdownable.

This is an emotional family drama exploring that complex topic of female friendships, and for once, it's not about husbands being unfaithful. It's about love, loss, ftesh beginnings, and forgiveness.

Two friends, Padma and Dana, best friends, and neighbours have shared so much over the past years. Telling each other and discussing everything, their marriages, their careers, their children, their deepest darkest secrets, and fears, knowing that their friendship is solid and those secrets are kept.

That's until a medical emergency derails their whole lives in a split second. Padma, an ER doctor, should have known better. Shouldn't she? *NO SPOILERS*

Dana not only has to navigate her way around the fact her daughter Izzy may never wake up, her husband has dropped in her lap, that he no longer loves her, and their marriage is over. In a matter of what feels like seconds, Dana's life is crumbling around her.

Alongside the main theme stands Dana's son and Izzy's twin Ian. He's always felt like the lesser twin, unheard, unseen, and unwanted. The only one who's ever made him feel wanted is Izzy, so when she's no longer there to hold him up, his life spirals.

This was an emotionally charged plot that had me constantly choosing sides, and I honestly think any mothers out there reading this book will feel exactly the same. How do you support your child with every breath in your body whilst losing your best friend?

The characterisation was beautifully and intricately written, with real empathy that ran through every scenario, and the whole storyline felt engaging.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

Who We Used To Be is an emotional, beautifully written story about love, grief, and the weight of the past. Caitlin Weaver captures the complexity of relationships with honesty and heart. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down. A powerful debut that stays with you long after the last chapter.

A book about family tragedy and the relationships that are affected by it. I was invested with all of the characters throughout the book. It really made me think about how I would have handled the situations. I would highly recommend this to readers that enjoy family sagas.

I read this in like 2 days. This may be my fave of hers so far. The best friend drama vs. loyalty to your child reminds me of a Jodi Picoult book but it wasn’t too similar. I devoured it. I feel like all the characters had their place and everything was wrapped up nicely in the end. Well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing & the author for this DRC in exchange for my honest review.

Read in 2 hours and 33 minutes.

You can’t outrun your emotions. So why did I duck out of reading this book sooner?
Because the emotions are a constant rhythm, gnawing at your senses, like the machines in Izzy’s hospital room.

I knew that this book would be a heavy one- I didn’t know that the story would leave me floored.
If you liked Jodi Picoult’s Handle With Care and The Pact (or Mad Honey or *any* of her books, if I’m being honest) you’ll love this too.

It’s a similar story to these, with two neighbouring families closely intertwined and seemingly inseparable. Then, Izzy (the high achieving golden daughter of Eric and Dana) suddenly ends up in a coma.

Padma (the star doctor gunning for the big promotion, and the neighbour that is best friends with Dana) is the doctor who checked her out- and discharged her.

Immediately, it’s a Cold War.

A distraught Dana lashes out at her former friend and sues her, which details Padma’s long-awaited job plans, and the friendship that Izzy and Mauve (Padma’s daughter) share.
Dana can’t find the strength to reveal that her debts are swallowing up any funds she can scrabble together, and she’s going to lose her mother’s precious shop.

Meanwhile, Eric is in the best shape of his life and drifting away from his wife, who isn’t interested in partaking in his life renovation.
Oh, and Ian’s desperately trying to smother his spiralling problem.
You forgot about Ian? Everyone does.

Izzy’s twin brother is scraping by on his grades, notorious for partying and playing women, and accelerating down a dead end street.
Accustomed to the role of black sheep, he doesn’t know how to be better.

But what if Izzy’s coma is actually what these fragmented families need?

Mauve is lost without her charismatic best friend but this is her one chance to cautiously peer out of Izzy’s long-reaching shadow.

Seeing the emotional hurricane swirling around this comatose girl; the pain and secrets cracked open whilst she’s unaware of any of the damage, is a gut punch.

Their relationships with each other- even with Izzy- are disintegrating and Padma explains that any attempt to repair this is like pushing the walls back up on a house whilst the roof is falling apart.

I think that this story will especially hit harder for mothers, as this focuses on the two mothers, how well they know their children, and the pressures that society puts on them.

The plot also covers addiction and its lifelong battle, a work life balance, relationships and their shifting shapes, and hope.

Out of all the characters, I feel the most for Ian- he’s a cliche 2000s romcom character but with the silent drowning symptoms- although Lars was an excellent match for Padma.

We all need a Lars in our life, end of.

Dana and Padma have been neighbours and best friends for years, their daughters just as close. On the surface, they seem to have it all together, Dana is running a successful small business and raising healthy, happy teenage twins, Izzy and Ian. Padma, meanwhile, has built a distinguished career as an ER doctor, has a supportive husband, and a well-adjusted teenage daughter.

When a medical tragedy strikes and entangles both families, their once-solid bond begins to unravel. Anger, blame, and guilt threaten to drive them apart, while each member struggles with painful personal challenges including marital and financial troubles and substance abuse.

I always look forward to a good family drama, and "Who We Used to Be" delivers, layering in friendship drama and complex emotional themes. I was eager to dive in, and the book did not disappoint.

This was a true page-turner that hooked me from the very first chapter. The story alternates between multiple viewpoints, allowing the reader to experience each character’s perspective while still providing enough character development to make you root for them—or, at times, want to shake some sense into them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC for review.

Why do I love Caitlin Weaver's work so much? Because it is gut wrenching, eloquent, and so real and raw. Who We Used to Be could easily be about any of us. Best friends Padma and Dana, ripped apart by heartbreaking circumstances. You can feel the tension; the push and pull between heart and brain; the uncertainty of actions, the questioning of intent. Weaver's characters are so real. They are flawed with normal struggles and insecurities. Padma and Dana are both such well thought out characters that are utterly human. The same is true for their children: Maeve, Ian, and Izzy. Also a big shout out to Padma's husband, Lars, for being such a green flag of a man. As a mom, my heart breaks for both Padma and Dana. Watching Maeve and Ian navigate grief and uncertainty had my heart screaming with so much empathy. GREAT BOOK, highly recommend! Weaver is officially one of my favourite authors. Thank you to #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for this ARC.

Thank you Caitlin and your publisher the ARC.

I throughly enjoyed this book! The story was written so well. It is definitely a parent’s nightmare. I am happy with how it ended and there were no loose ends. Would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. This book was not really for me. I was hoping for more character development but everyone was pretty bland in spite of the stakes.

This book really surprised me in the best way. From the first chapter I was hooked. The way Caitlin Weaver writes is so easy to get into, and the emotions just feel real. It’s not a thriller in the traditional sense, but still very intense and I couldn’t stop reading. What I loved most is how real the characters felt. Dana and Padma are very different women, but both so relatable. Their friendship was strong, and tested in a way that made you think a lot. Also, the way their families are written, especially the teenagers, was very natural and believable. I really loved Izzy and Ian. Ian’s emotional journey hit me hard. His part was maybe my favorite. And Maeve was great too. The drama is emotional, but it never feels too much or fake. The chapters switch between characters, which helped a lot to understand all of them better. Also, even the side characters like Dana’s husband Eric or Padma’s husband Lars are done with care. You can love or hate them, but they don’t feel like just background people. Everyone has a role. Honestly, I didn’t expect to love this book so much. Thank you so much to the author, Storm Publishing and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book in advance, I received this for free and I'm leaving a honest review