This is my 3rd book by Caitlin Weaver. I think she is my new favorite author! She writes family suspense stories that you can imagine could happen to you. This story has medical issues, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, teen angst, friendships and marriages on the verge of collapse. I could not put the book down. I can’t wait for another Caitlyn Weaver book!!

WOW what a page turner. Another great family suspense novel from Caitlin Weaver, this time with medical crisis and addiction issues. Outstanding characters, good dialogue and suspense. What I love about Caitlin Weaver's novels is that she creates these scenarios that you can see happening to your life. They are about normal women living normal lives with normal houses and jobs. And then circumstances arise that turn everything upside down. And you can't help but think how you and your family would react with those kinds of scenarios. There is always a character to relate to.

Padma and Dana are best friends, the kind of friendship I really envy. They tell each other everything and are fierce supporters of each other. Padma encourages Dana to go to couples therapy with her husband and Dana encourages Padma to not work so much at her job as an ER doctor. Dana has twins, Izzy and Ian. When a crisis comes up with Izzy in the ER, Padma serves as her attending physician. But things do not go well and then the blame game starts. Dana's boutique store is in financial ruin, her husband has turned into a walking Tony Robbins inspirational quote. Ian has problems of his own.

I loved this story, it was so engaging! The situation just sucks you right in.... so dramatic! The pacing is absolutely perfect, the multiple POV chapters serve excellent characterization, even the minor characters stand out. I really felt for Dana and Padma both. This book is very easy to read and suspenseful. If you like a good thriller but one without blood and murders, you will love Caitlin Weaver. Her stories are always female centered and characters are typically moms also. So for those of us in that category there is so much to relate to. Perfect for book clubs!

For fans of;
-family dramas
-Jodi Picoult, Lisa Genova, Gillian Flynn
-Multi POV stories

Trigger warnings
-addiction
-medical crisis

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. Book to be published July 29, 2025.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I found it interesting and hard to put down. It was well written and definitely held my interest. My only wish was that the ending was longer!

My thanks to the author and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Caitlin Weaver is definitely one to watch for me! This is the second of hers that I have read so far and they’ve both been outstanding. If you’re a fan of authors like Liane Moriarty then I highly recommend reading this – they both have a wonderful skill for writing deeply character-driven stories that explore difficult topics and the complexity and power of friendships between women.

Who We Used to Be is about two neighbours and best friends – Dana and Padma. Their 17-year-old daughters, Izzy and Maeve are also best friends. When Izzy shows up at the A&E department where Padma works, with a leg injury she’s obtained during cross country practice, Padma rushes straight in to help her, and she’s sent home the same day. But later that night, Izzy collapses in the shower and ends up in a coma. What did Padma miss? Was it her fault?

As Izzy remains in her coma, everyone’s lives change – and they all start to figure out who they really are, and who they want to be in this permanently changed version of their lives. Izzy’s twin brother, Ian, is battling his own problems which start to get worse. But as he gets closer to Maeve, his negative view of himself really starts to change.

I loved his character – and found it amazing how Caitlin seemed to get into the head of a 17-year-old schoolboy as well as a 46-year-old mum. The relationship between the twins was so poignant – at 17, they’re still very close but it’s not the same. When Ian describes pulling away from his parents as a teenager and now missing the physical contact of hugging his family, it was so beautiful and sad!

With short chapters moving between the points of view of the different characters, it was pacy and hard to put down. Seeing Padma and Dana’s relationship break down, and tackling subjects from addiction to growing up and self-discovery, Caitlin really knows how to get into our hearts and create such very real and likeable characters!

Prepare yourself for a bit of a weep but I promise it’s worth it! And I can’t wait to read more of her books!

Who We Used to Be was an absolutely fantastic read. It was incredibly emotional from start to finish and there are so many layers to consider. You've got the main theme, which is the two best friends torn apart by a simple mistake that led to a horrible outcome. But on top of that, you've got a teenager struggling with addiction, a marriage that is falling apart and a doctor who is trying to figure out who she actually is outside of her career. This isn't a simple, easy to read story. This book will tug at your heartstrings. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Caitlin Weaver has quickly become a favorite! I will automatically read anything she writes. She reminds me a lot of Jodi Picoult, and I can’t get enough. If you like emotional, thought provoking books, this is the one for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the early read in exchange for my honest review.

Who We Used to Be is an emotional story about friendship, blame, and how quickly life can spiral out of control. Dana and Padma are next-door neighbors and best friends—more like family. Dana has spent most of her life letting others take the lead, but now, with her marriage falling apart, her son in crisis, and her business barely hanging on, she's forced to face how little control she ever had.

Padma is a dedicated ER nurse, used to pressure. But when Dana’s daughter ends up in a coma after Padma misses a key medical detail, everything changes. Grief turns into blame, and both women’s lives begin to fall apart as painful truths come to the surface.

I loved how Weaver told the story through multiple POVs, showing different angles and providing insight into each character’s thoughts. The characters felt real, and their pain, stress, and guilt were relatable.

I finished this book in two days and couldn’t put it down. It was honest, intense, and included some well-placed moments of lightheartedness. Even my husband said, “I haven’t seen you this into a book in a long time.” I highly recommend it and can’t wait for my friends and family to read it too.

Neighbours and close friends Dana and Padma share all their secrets and thoughts. They are as close as sisters and happy that the kids and husbands also get on well.
Until a potentially threatening illness endangers the life of Dana's daughter Izzy, after an incident that Dr Padma had failed to monitor correctly.
Recriminations then fly and sides have to be taken, causing trauma and anxiety for everyone.
This is my first Caitlin Weaver read but I was enthralled from the first page. She weaves a fine storyline and there are plenty of "what if" moments. Emotions run high throughout and lives will never be the same again.
A great read and a definite page turner

I think this is my favourite Caitlin Weaver book so far. This is the story of how quickly and easily a friendship can be destroyed, through adverse situations and misunderstandings. Two families, navigating an illness, with conflicting points of view.
I finished this book in only a couple of days. The characters are believable, and compelling, so I needed to find out what happened. The end of the book was wrapped up a little too quickly and simply for me, but overall it was an engaging read.

This was a story about things can escalate out of control, how things may be shaky anyway and above all, a story about friendships. Both Dana and Padma are juggling jobs and children, and both are under pressure. When Dana's daughter ends up in a coma due to clots due to the contraceptive pill, all sorts of issues come out. Padma didn’t check for medications as she knew Lily well. Dana didn’t know her daughter was taking them, nor did she know about her son's drug addiction, or that her husband was ready to leave her. Padma was driven to succeed in medicine, but at what cost to her family. As events unfold, the secrets come out. What I would have loved to know, is would Lily have confessed to being on the pill if Padma had asked, especially as her mother was there? The characters were very credible and it was easy to really feel for their anguish, as well as applaud them coming out the other side. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my copy.

I just finished reading this book. The plot was absolutely fantastic! It was quite the page turner, and I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I can't wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

read if you like:
📖 books by Jodi Picoult
👯 female best friends
🩺 medical crises

summary:
Caitlin Weaver is an immediate must read for me, and when I saw she had a new book, I rushed to find it on NetGalley. And wow, her books just get better and better. This one follows Dana Blair and Padma Paulsen, two best friends who live outside of Atlanta. Dana has twin teenagers, Izzy and Ian, with her husband, Eric, and runs a luxury boutique she inherited from her mom. Padma has one daughter, Maeve, who is also Izzy’s best friend, and works as an ER doctor at the local hospital.

When Izzy collapses and is brought into the ER, Padma immediately steps in and tells her nothing is wrong. But when she returns to the hospital, Padma realizes she might have made a grave mistake — one that put her best friend’s daughter in danger, and their friendship even more at risk.

Like with all of Weaver’s books, this is emotionally charged from beginning to end. You won’t be able to put it down, and will constantly be asking yourself — whose side are you on? The book explores themes of friendship and trauma, and alternates between POV’s, making it even harder to know how to feel as you empathize with both women’s pain. It also explores the fragility of life and of friendship, and how even the strongest bonds can be broken when a crisis arises. It’s heartwarming, heartbreaking and satisfying all in one, and perfect if you like books focused around moral ambiguity.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy, and make sure you check this out when it releases on July 29!

I received a copy for review. All opinions are my own. This was a great complex storyline of how an accident affects several people and how it begins to alter their relationships with each other.. I love that it alternated chapters for each person to develop their individual story. It was a very easy read but had a decent mix of emotions in every chapter.

‘Who We Used to Be’ by Caitlin Weaver is one of the most honest, realistic, and relatable books I’ve read in a long time.

This is my first novel by this author, and hopefully it won’t be the last.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this beautiful read.

One of the best books I have read in a LONG time. Highly recommend this for a book club. So many things to talk about with it. Loved it!

Oh WOW!! THIS. BOOK. Who We Used To Be is a beautifully written poignant story that will tug at your emotions for the entire book. Your heartstrings will get a workout for sure. It sucked me in from page one and only released me at the last word written.

Dana and Padma are neighbors and best friends. They tell each other everything and know each other as well as anyone can know another person. Their daughters are also best friends. When a sudden tragedy occurs, their bond is tested and broken in ways that may not ever be able to be fully repaired.

This book was beautifully executed and I could not and did not put it down. The emotions are real and the characters are so relatable. It's told through multiple perspectives and the chapters are short and flow seamlessly. This was my first read by Caitlin Weaver but definitely won't be my last. If you're looking for an emotional and powerful story, this book is a MUST. I can't recommend it enough!

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the advanced copy

Dana and Padma are neighbours and friends. When Dana's daughter falls into a coma after Padma's supposed medical negligence, their relationship changes drastically.
The truth is that Izzy's coma affects everyone around her. We alternate between the narrative voices of Dana, Padma, Izzy's brother and her best friend to discover how strong the bonds of family and friendship are, the feelings and secrets long hidden and how, if possible, the wounds can be healed.
An emotional novel that keeps you gripped to its pages until the very end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. A well- written domestic drama. Four stars!

Who We Used to Be by Caitlin Weaver, published by Storm Publishing, is a literally unputdownable stand alone, packed with suspense, drama and more drama.
Dana and Padma are neighbors and friends when a tragic accident and Padma's medical mistake cause this friendship turníng bitter.
I read this book in one sitting, couldn't put it down - had to know what happens next.
Recommend this 5 stars read.

I couldn’t get enough of this book it had me gasping and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I couldn’t stop reading this book deserves 5 stars for the amount of jaw drops and twists!

It was so addictive I devoured it in one day and as I raced to the end desperate to find out what would happen next! The ending was jaw-dropping and absolutely mind-blowing!

It was an unforgettable, unputdownable read and my emotions were running at high speed! I loved every minute of it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!