The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a stunning novel. There is a small handful of books that I have wanted to hold close to my chest when I finished them. When I read (or heard) the final word, I was sad. I felt I had lost a friend. Not wanting them to be over, I had the impulse to read (or listen) to them all over again. These are books that make me want to keep being a writer. They are books that make me hope one day I will write one sentence that reaches someone in a way that these books have reached me. The Correspondent is one of those books.
I got the audiobook from the Brooklyn Public Library because so many people I know said how much they loved it, and in particular how much they loved the audiobook. Rather than being read by one narrator, this book has a different reader for nearly every character and I loved that as much as I loved the letters themselves. It felt more like the reading of a play than a book.
Rather than defining my to-be-read list by formal book reviews, I tend to read books that are recommended to me by people who know me. The fact that The Correspondent has become such a breakout success almost made me skip it because many times books that are this popular have left me wondering what everyone else sees that I don’t. So I got The Correspondent out of curiosity, but not expecting much from it. I was absolutely wrong.
A handful of minutes into the audiobook, I found myself being unable to do much else until I finished it. I found myself imagining the settings and the characters as my neighbors and friends even though the book has very little physical description. It is a series of letters (and emails and postcards) to and from different people in the book, most of them originating from or addressed to the main character, Sybil Van Antwerp, a forthright and articulate retiree in her 70s with steadfast opinions and deep, secret regrets.
By the end of the book we understand the arc of Sybil’s life that led to her talents, flaws, and circumstances. I laughed out loud, cried heavy tears, and learned so much about the human condition. The book made me want to give myself and others more grace, forgiveness, and love. It made me want to write more letters. It made me want to keep journaling. It reminded me that worlds don’t need to be fantastical to be poignant or wonder-filled. Our ordinary every day lives hold a magic of their own.
In the end we all become stories, as Margaret Atwood so beautifully articulated, and The Correspondent has that theme at its heart. It made me think about which stories people will tell about me. By the end of my time, what will I have done that will be worth remembering? Can living with the end in mind make our days more meaningful for us, and also for the people who will live beyond our last day?
I don’t have any answers to those questions. But I am enormously grateful to author Virginia Evans for planting those seeds in my mind and heart, and I will be thinking about them for a very long time. Perhaps I’ll write her a letter to let her know.
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/
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