The Shadow And the Ghost

Writing for The Atavist Magazine, Christine found a home for the decade's worth of archival and genealogical research and on-the-ground reporting she put into unraveling her family's closest-held secret. Her beloved grandmother Nanny grew up in a Depression-era Brooklyn, Italian Pentecostal storefront church with cultish devotion to “Reverend Mother”—their spiritual leader who purported to heal the sick with her “holy napkin.” Published in January 2022, “The Shadow and the Ghost” drove high traffic, remaining on the magazine’s homepage for a year. The Best American Essays 2023 recognized “The Shadow and the Ghost” as a notable work.