Christina's life is a real-life Cinderella story. At twenty-five, she met Jeffrey, a powerful figure on Wall Street, and her life became a whirlwind of youth, affluence, maltreatment, and love. However, life with Jeffrey Wilson took an unexpected turn on the morning of September 11, 2000, at 6 a.m. A phone call delivered news that shattered their world, forcing them to pick up the pieces and start anew. This is a story of resilience, love, and hope that will resonate with many. Ultimately, Christina's story is about the importance of embracing life's experiences. It's about self-discovery, unconditional love, family, and her deep belief that everything in life happens for a reason. We had the opportunity to interview Christina about this poignant and powerful memoir.
Suzee: Tell me about yourself.
Christina H. Wilson: I am an American-born Chinese or in slang, an ABC. I have a blended-family of 5 kids (really adults) aged 28 to 31. We are what I call a modern-day Brady bunch or also the “Blasian Bunch” as combined, we are Chinese, Caucasian, African-American, Filipino, Jewish, Catholic, and Presbyterian.
I take pride in being a mother to this bunch and my most cherished memories are of my times with my family. I come from a family of 5 children too. I have 2 older sisters and 2 younger brothers. My mother, who is my rock, is 87 and my father passed away several years ago from lung cancer. As you can probably tell, I am a family-person.
My first husband was in a tragic car accident on 9/11/2000. After a long 13 months of trying everything possible to get him better (suffered a traumatic brain injury), he died on 10/10/2001. I was an only-parent for our 2 boys, who were 5 and 7 years old, for 9 years before meeting my current husband.
I am spiritual and hold tight to my beliefs, especially that everything happens for a reason. I think if we can control our perspective on what is happening in our lives, we can be at peace because I believe that things happen for us, not to us. The events in our lives are life-lessons.
Suzee: Why did you write this book?
Christina H. Wilson: I started writing short-stories about events in my life (my life lessons) after my first husband died. I thought that one day I would give the stories to my sons so they could have an understanding and insight on who I am. I think that we grow up with an idea of who our parents are but don’t really know them or what they have been through, so I wanted my boys to someday be able to see what has made me who I am.
I continued to write stories over 20 years as life kept producing lessons. Having 2 daughters now, I wanted them to see what I had survived, which led me to have inner-strength and unconditional love, which I hope for all my children, but especially the girls.
Suzee: What was the writing process like, physically and emotionally?
Christina H. Wilson: The process was lengthy, about 20 years, but every time I wrote a story I found it very therapeutic. It was like I was putting to words my thoughts, perspectives, and feelings and once I wrote the story, I could move forward from it and learn the life-lesson. So in a sense, it was liberating and relieving.
Some stories were emotionally difficult to write as I had to rehash the memories and events, but I knew they were important to convey and share, so I didn’t hold back and presented my truth the best I could. Sharing very personal and emotional stories was scary as I felt very vulnerable, but in the end after getting the stories written I had to let go of the fear and be at peace with exposing my life.
Suzee: What is the message or feeling that you want people to have after reading your book?
Christina H. Wilson: I’d like to think that after reading my book, the stories make people feel good or better about their lives. I know there are many relatable stories and after reading my book, my readers feel a connection to my stories and validation to their feelings. Feelings of hope, unconditional love, inner-strength, and faith are some of the messages that are conveyed.
I specifically made the last story a reflection of my past. I wanted to weave everything together as my book is like a tapestry of stories. I think readers will be able to see how everything came together, how what I believe has shaped my life, and they understand the wonder of how life happens for you.
Suzee: Who has inspired you in life to write this book, or just overall persevere through all of your challenges?
Christina H. Wilson: I dedicated my book to my mother because she has been my constant supporter, fan, cheerleader, and critic in life. My mom has been by my side through the good, tragic, beautiful, and ugly times in my life, but has always allowed me to safely learn my life-lessons on my own.
Because she trusted me to make my own decisions, while she did voice her opinions, she never deserted me or stopped loving me when I didn’t follow her advice. This provided me with the independence I would need later in life. My mother is self-less and truly loves me unconditionally, which has been an inspiration for me.
Suzee: What is in the future for you?
Christina H. Wilson: After getting amazing and uplifting feedback from this book and my grief-support podcast, Sisterhood Through Grief, it is such a rewarding feeling to know that I am helping others. I may never know personally who it is that I am helping, but if by being transparent and vulnerable with my truth I can help someone who is suffering, that is what I strive to do.
I am not certain in what context yet, but now that I have closed the past chapters of my life, I am excited to see what the future holds for me. I think the book would make a great series or movie, and have had so many readers tell me this, so maybe that will be my next endeavor.
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