Who We Were

A gripping novel about the power of childhood cruelty, and how it makes us the adults we become.

IT'S BEEN TWENTY YEARS
BUT ALL IS NOT FORGIVEN

Katy is not the shy schoolgirl she once was, and she's looking forward to showing her classmates who she's become.
Annabel was the queen bee. But her fall from grace changed her life forever.
Zach was cruel, but he thinks he's changed.
Robbie was a target. And he never stood a chance.
The reunion will bring together friends and enemies, many for the first time in decades. But someone is still holding a grudge...

B.M. Carroll was born in Ireland, and spent her early career working in finance. She is the author of eight novels, her most recent being The Missing Pieces of Sophie McCarthy, which was described as 'irresistibly good' by Liane Moriarty. She lives in Sydney.

Who We Were
Allen & Unwin
Author: B.M. Carroll
ISBN: 9781788164184
RRP: $29.99

Interview with Ber Carroll

 

Question: What made you write Who We Were?

 

Ber Carroll: I have to give full credit to my daughter, Ashling, for giving me the idea for this book. Ashling received a yearbook when she finished primary school. Each child had their own half-page in the book, along with their photo. I was quite surprised to read that Ashling's least favourite subject was English. Then I read that she wanted to be a mechanic when she grew up … and that was frankly not true! To cut a long story short, another boy's information had been inserted next to Ashling's photo. The school were very apologetic, and immediately arranged a replacement yearbook. I was relieved to read that English was Ashling's favourite subject after all, but what she wanted to be when she grew up was just as astonishing as the first version … a marine biologist (she didn't know what a marine biologist actually does, just thought it sounded cool). The incident got me thinking about yearbooks and school reunions, and if any of us end up becoming what we think we'll become … 

Question: How much of your inspiration comes from real life and real people?

 

Ber Carroll: Almost all my inspiration comes from real life. My books are very character based, and it's important to me that the characters and the dilemmas they face are based in reality. That said, I have never been to a school reunion. I left Ireland at age 23, and kept in touch with a few close friends but lost contact with the vast majority. I now live in Sydney's northern beaches, a beautiful part of the world where people tend to stay put and raise families of their own. Many of my northern beaches' friends know each other from high school. My ears have perked up at mentions of their twenty-year and thirty-year reunions. Some stories found their way back to me. A grown man who sought out a friend's husband at twenty-year get-together. 'I want to thank you,' he said, offering his hand to shake. 'I was planning to kill myself when I got home. If you hadn't said "leave him alone", I wouldn't be here today.' The man had been relentlessly bullied at school. My friend's husband had been unaware of the profound impact of his actions … he couldn't even remember saying 'leave him alone'. That story resonated with me and underpinned some of the themes in Who We Were.

Question: Childhood cruelty is such a big topic. What is the main message you hope readers take from Who We Were? 

 

Ber Carroll:Our high-school years are an intense, formative period in our lives, but as soon as we walk out the doors into the world, everything can change … if we want it to!  We can reinvent ourselves, and leave behind the fact that we were the quiet one, or the socially awkward one, or the silly one. The funny thing is, it's often the cruel ones who change the most, transforming into devoted parents, responsible citizens, and much kinder human beings.  

 

Question: What did you learn whilst writing Who We Were?

 

Ber Carroll: Research for the novel took me to all sorts of interesting places: teenage drug addiction, homelessness and missing people, career information for flight attendants to council rangers to science teachers, police procedure and more medical information than I could get my head around! I always finish a novel with a little more wisdom than I had at the outset, and a lot more general knowledge. 

Question: Who do you hope reads Who We Were?

 

Ber Carroll: The suspense element should appeal to readers who are enjoying the current surge in domestic noir, and the everyday setting and characters should resonate with readers who err towards general fiction. I expect to draw a broad range in the age of readers, from recent school leavers to those of us whose school years are in the far-distant past. 

Question: What book are you reading right now? 

 

Ber Carroll: Dervla McTiernan's, The Good Turn, which is excellent and provides a very effective distraction from what is going on in the world.

Question: What can we expect from you next?

 

Ber Carroll: I have just finished the first draft of my next novel and I'm waiting for my publisher's feedback. I am not sure if it's brilliant and my best work ever, or absolutely terrible! So hard to have perspective when you have been living and breathing the manuscript! 

Interview by Gwen van Montfort