The Woman I Was Before

Single mother Kate Jones arrives on Parkview Road determined to start over. She has changed her name and her daughter's, moved across the country, and left behind a single catastrophic mistake that shattered the life they had.

On the new estate she lets herself form her first real friendships in years, with warm, whirlwind Gisela and sharp, composed Sally, two women whose lives look enviably perfect from the outside. But behind each polished front door sits a private burden.

Gisela curates an image of family success online, while Sally's adoring marriage quietly costs her more than anyone sees. As the three grow close, the strain of everything they each conceal begins to press against the surface.

Then Kate is called to the scene of a devastating car accident, and its consequences ripple outward, testing everything the women believed they knew about one another and themselves. Told with emotional immediacy, the novel weaves together the threads of secrecy, reinvention, and the masks people wear to seem all right.

As old truths threaten to surface, Kate must reckon with whether the fresh start she fought for can survive the unraveling of the past she tried to bury.