Claire Tomkinson

The Hill Between Heartbeats

I didn’t know I was breaking until I met stillness. For years, I moved through life like a ghost in a familiar house—mother, protector, survivor. My laughter was rehearsed, my smiles were armor. There was always something to do, someone to save, a crisis to manage, a fear to silence. I held my boys like shields against the world, even when the weight of everything threatened to buckle my spine.