Things That Break is a devastatingly intimate story of love, loss, and the invisible battles fought in silence. Tierney “Tini” has only ever relied on one Declan “Ducky,” the boy next door with a crooked smile and a heart too big for the weight he carries. He’s her protector, her safe place, and eventually, her first love. But life has a way of breaking even the strongest bonds. Declan rises from back-to-back small-town tragedies to college football stardom and an NFL contract, while Tini builds a life of her own as a writer. When they reunite, it feels like the happy ending they both deserve—until a single violent night rips everything apart. Told through Tini’s journal entries as they grow up together, Things That Break is a raw, heart-wrenching exploration of childhood love that grows into something unshakable, only to be tested by grief, addiction, family curses, and the brutal silence around men’s mental health. For fans of If He Had Been With Me, this is not a fairy tale—it’s a tragic love story that asks what it truly means to hold on… and what it costs to finally let go.