These weren’t expensive pieces, necessarily - mostly local artists in Maine whose work we admired. It’s really useful to think about her as a whole person, with positives and negatives it helps me make sense of her legacy.Īllison: What one memento reminds you most of your mother?Ĭhristina: My mother did something very special with me and my three sisters, which I am now doing now with my three boys: she bought art for us, even before we had homes of our own, when purchasing “real” art was generally beyond our budgets.

I’ve found that actively talking about her with my sisters and father, as often as one of us wishes, helps immensely. Have you found this to be the case?Ĭhristina: My mother was a complicated woman, and my memories of her are complicated. These themes echo the essential lesson in Passed and Present: that being proactive about remembering loved ones drives resilience, sparks creativity, and brings remarkable joy.Īllison: Being proactive about remembering loved ones makes you happier. In our conversation, Christina talks about the loss of her mother and how traveling, purchasing art, and eating cornbread and grits keeps her memory alive. Ever since that exciting time, I’ve been in awe of Christina’s writing (she’s also the author of The Way Life Should Be, Sweet Water, Bird in Hand, and Desire Lines) and thrilled to be part of her life. We worked together on my second book, Always Too Soon, and it’s her name alongside mine on the cover. Go get a copy! This fantastic story is about the relationship between the artist Andrew Wyeth and the subject of his best-known painting, Christina’s World.Ĭhristina and I have been friends for more than a decade. Her latest book, A Piece of the World, is out right now. I got to speak with #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline. This month’s Q&A on grief and resilience is very special to me.

Christina baker books