It’s a common human instinct to shelter ourselves from pain. However, sometimes the shortest route to healing involves opening up to our community rather than shutting down. In this spirit, I’d like you to meet Samuel, the owner of The Crooked Willow Cafe, in this excerpt from Chapter 4 of my novel Where the Light Enters. Comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.
The Crooked Willow Cafe was aptly named for the towering Willow Tree with a crooked trunk that dominated the center of the room. It was covered with twisted vines and surrounded by a shallow ring of running water. Samuel Nayra, the owner of the cafe, hung a simple hand lettered sign on it that read: “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. ~ Kahil Gabran”
Samuel trimmed the new shoots from the trunk as made his rounds to greet everyone with his signature wide smile and bear hugs. “How far he had come in the past 5 years,” Skyar thought. “This tree gave him a new lease on life in every way.”
After his only son, David, died, Samuel fell into a deep depression. His depression was so severe that he checked into a hospital. In the hospital, he learned about the stages of grief and came across a legend that stated a Willow Tree provides protection and healing from loss to the person who cares for it.
After his recovery, Samuel returned home and immediately planted a young Willow branch in his backyard. It took root and within weeks it was growing at an alarming rate. Samuel attributes the wild growth to David’s spirit that he believes lives within the tree. Rather than keeping the comfort he experienced in the shade of the tree to himself, he built the cafe around it. Samuel’s famous for saying, “We’re all healing from something.”
He lined the tree with strings of white Christmas lights. At night when the cafe closed, he plugged in the thousands of small Christmas lights so the tree remained completely illuminated in the darkness. Samuel knew firsthand that the hardest hours for grief are at night. Every night there would always be at least a handful of people who could be found staring at the tree through the cafe windows. Some would bring their tears. Others had nothing left except that blank stare of deep and abiding loss. Samuel kept the lights burning for them so that they would know they were never really alone.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
I'd love to know what you think of this post! Please leave a reply and I'll get back to you in a jiffy! ~ CRA Cancel reply
