The Way I Am Now

Picking up where The Way I Used to Be left off, The Way I Am Now returns to Eden and Josh as they try, tentatively, to build something real together in the aftermath of trauma. Months after Eden and two other survivors publicly named the boy who assaulted her, she is starting college while her case moves toward trial, and the prospect of testifying looms over everything.

Told in the alternating voices of both Eden and Josh, this companion novel widens the lens of the first book, giving Josh, who carries his own private pain over an alcoholic father, a chance to finally speak. As the trial approaches and old wounds resurface, the two must figure out whether love can survive what they have each been through, and what healing actually looks like.

Amber Smith's follow-up is a tender, honest portrait of recovery, consent, and second chances, a hopeful counterpart to the raw devastation of The Way I Used to Be.