《曾经的我》

    In the tradition of “Speak,” this debut novel shares the unforgettable story of a young woman as she struggles to find strength in the aftermath* of an assault*.

    Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes*.

    What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved — who she once loved — she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense* anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.

    Told in four parts — freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year — this provocative debut reveals the deep cuts of trauma*. But it also shows one young woman’s strength as she goes through the disappointment and unbearable pains of adolescence*, of first love and first heartbreak, of friendships broken and rebuilt, and while learning to find a power of survival she never knew she had hidden within her heart.

    The book reminds us that we might not be able to go back to the way things were, but we can make the most of now.

    Author Amber Smith grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. After graduating from art school with a BFA in painting, she earned her MA in art history. When she’s not writing, she is working as a curator* and art consultant. She has also written on the topics of art history and modern and contemporary art. This book is her first novel.

    (SD-Agencies)