A genuine telling of a heart wrenching story, I Didn't Used to be This Way paints a picture of small-town life, family, struggle, and ultimately triumph. Louise Case recounts the details of her journey growing up in a small town with an abusive, workaholic mother and a father with a gambling problem. Stories of her navigating life alongside her older brother in a quaint, peaceful town where gossip is the best entertainment and discovering that family is who you choose are told through vignettes of the past, highlighting the people who made a large impact in her life, both good and bad. Case tells the ups and downs of her life with wit and humor, from getting her first lipstick to brain surgery to almost dropping out of nursing school to finding a surrogate family and handling the death of her father, we see her grow and change with each turn of the page.