No one knows a child like a mother. At birth, the cord is cut, but that connection never goes away. It is instinctual-it is primal. There is a draw and pull like no other. As an infant, you know the meaning of every cry within seconds of hearing it. You can interpret every facial expression and body language. With no words at all you can feel their anger, their hurt, their frustration, their joy, and their fear. That never goes away. Whether they are six, sixteen, or sixty, it never goes away. You would move mountains, walk through fire, lay down your life. When an ordinary day takes a life altering twist that leads you down roads you never expected to walk, a mother does not weaken from the burden. They stand taller, dig their heels in, pick up the pace, and move forward. Always moving forward. They have no idea what's coming, but that is not a deterrent. It's a challenge that can evolve into a battle, or even an all-out war that you will wage even though you may be the only soldier fighting it. You will buck conventual barriers. You will question. You will advocate. You will go against the grain of the premise that those with expensive degrees on their wall or many fancy letters behind their name, are always right. The thought not to question comes, but it is fleeting. When that guttural instinct kicks in, there is no stopping it, especially when it comes down to two things-the life or death of your child.
The Golden Hour tells the story of a family whose life is upended when their teenage daughter Rowan collapses at school without warning. As doctors give diagnosis after diagnosis, Rowan’s mother, Alice begins to suspect misdiagnosis altogether, that something vital is being missed — she knows her daughter, and she refuses to stand by. With no medical background whatsoever, she challenges, she demands, all on sheer instinct. A mother’s instinct. What unfolds is a race against an unknown force, and an unrelenting battle, with the biggest enemy being-time. Though fiction, the story is based on a true story, Janna Miller’s true story, and that of her daughter. Miller masterfully blends the true and harrowing events behind the story with moments of love, humor, heartbreak, unwavering hope and resilience — a journey of both devastation and triumph. It is quite the roller coaster.
No one prepares you for the long-haul of worry. The kind that is always present. You carry it with you everywhere. You go to bed with it, and you wake up with it. Parenting is always a tender tightrope between nurturing and letting go, but when your child becomes critically ill, that rope get thinner and the stakes higher. The hardest parts are not the ER visits or understanding every medication tried. It’s not even the appointments that stretch out for hours, test after test, or the conversations you’re forced to have before you’ve had time to process your own emotions. It’s watching your child wrestle with the “why”. Why is their body not cooperating. Why does their life look so different than those of their friends. Why can’t I just be normal. It will crush a parent’s soul to tell them, “This is the new normal.”
What resonates most with the portrayal of The Golden Hour is that not only does it have a literal medical meaning, that which means the sixty-minute time period in which medically critical or trauma patients have the best chance of survival if care is rendered within that time frame, but also the emotional aspect of it. That every moment, or in the case of a chronically sick child, every extra moment you get to have with your child, is golden. There is something uniquely powerful about storytelling that does not try to solve everything. This is where voices like Janna Miller’s are so important. The Golden Hour doesn’t sugarcoat the mental and emotional toll caregiving takes on a mother. It doesn’t wrap things up with a neat little bow. Instead, it honors Alice’s character as what she truly is, a woman who is scared, overwhelmed, and exhausted…yet she is still fighting.
That honesty is rare, but it’s needed. Because the truth is this..there is no perfect mom, sick child or not. There is only the one that shows up. Who is constantly present. Who keeps the appointments, holds the hand, wipes the tears, and plants a smile on her face when inside she is completely shattered. The one who breaks down in the car, then fixes her face before heading back in the house. That’s you. And that’s enough.
This is hard. Being a mom is hard. So, take a breath. You’re not alone. You’re not weak. You’re not failing.
Sometimes, as a mom, you’re just tired.
But you get through it and when push comes to shove you will ultimately ask yourself one question..
How far would you go to save the life of your child?
If you need a story that sees you, pick up The Golden Hour by Janna Miller. You’ll find yourself in its pages, not in the polished perfection of motherhood, but in the real, messy, heartbreaking, beautiful fight to keep going. To keep loving. To keep showing up.
And really, that’s what being a mom is all about.
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