Claire, now 28 and living in the United States, spent her early childhood moving through foster placements and institutional care. Before the age of eight, she had already learned how to live with few belongings and fewer guarantees. Her early years were defined by impermanence, routines that changed without warning, and the constant need to adapt.
Raised within the child welfare system, Claire learned early how to read adults, memorize new environments, and keep herself unobtrusive. She recalls being described as “resilient,” a word often applied to children in care, though she later came to understand that resilience often meant emotional restraint rather than strength. Over time, she adopted a personal rule that shaped her survival: “Don’t get attached.”
That rule followed her to the final orphanage placement of her childhood, a place she would later describe as the true beginning of her life. It was there, in an unremarkable room lit by fluorescent lights and lined with worn linoleum floors, that she met Noah.
