Writing as Reflection, Resistance and Possibility. Books, scholarly publications, essays and commentary, creative writing. Stories, scholarship, and public writing in conversation.

Books, scholarship & reflection

The personal and the political, in conversation.

My writing moves between scholarship, personal narrative, and public reflection, exploring migration, caregiving, identity, memory, and social change.

Across academic and broader audiences, I write about the relationships we carry, the systems we navigate, and the stories that deepen our understanding of one another.

Books

Lives and stories worth holding.

Forthcoming · In press

Holding on to Pearl

A Daughter’s Journey Through Dementia, Memory and Love

A personal collection of essays about caring for my mother, Pearl, through nearly a decade of dementia. The book explores caregiving, migration, memory, role reversal, family, grief, and the changing relationship between parent and adult child.

Christiana Best-Giacomini · Velon Book Publishing

Discover the book

Watch the book trailer

Watch the book trailer on YouTube

Edited collection · 2026

Shades of Excellence

Stories from Scholars of Color

An edited collection bringing scholars of color into focus through their stories.

Edited by M. S. John, C. Best-Giacomini, V. Buchanan, and K. Reid.
Lauren Simone Publishing.

Book · 2009

The Long Goodbye

Challenges of Transnational Parenting

A book on transnational parenting and the challenges families encounter across national borders.

Christiana Best-Cummings · VDM Verlag Dr. Müller.

Selected scholarly publications

Research carried into print.

Race, education & institutions
  • John, M. S., Costa, M., Best-Giacomini, C., Mangino, H., Hinds, L., Cheah, J., & Hightower, H. (2026). Interprofessional virtual simulation to advance equity and advocacy in healthcare: An educational innovation. Teaching and Learning in Nursing.
  • Best-Giacomini, C. (2024). Teaching While Black: A Call to Decolonize the Social Work Curriculum. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 30(1), 12–29.
  • Best-Giacomini, C., Howard, A., & Ilian, H. (2016). A racial equity staff development strategy for public human service organizations. In A. Carten (Ed.), Transforming Health and Human Services: An Antiracist Strategy. Oxford University Press.
Migration, identity & family
  • Best-Giacomini, C., Holt, C., & Matthews, L. (2022). Navigating the immigrant identity in the American workplace: Microaggression and the Caribbean diaspora. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies.
  • Best-Giacomini, C. (2017). Transnational parenting: The hidden costs of the search for a “better life.” In A. Burack-Weiss et al. (Eds.), Narrative Social Work Practice: The Power and Possibility of Story. Columbia University Press.
  • Best, C. (2014). Kinship care and transnational parenting: The intersection of cultural values and practices. Journal of Family Social Work, 17(2), 119–135.

Explore more on Google Scholar

Essays & work in progress

Writing toward understanding.

In “I Too Am DACA: Awakened Childhood Memories” (Reflections, 2020), personal memory becomes a way into the larger experience of migration. My essays and commentary also address grief, racial inequity, resilience, and social justice.

Forthcoming work includes the accepted manuscript “A Nation Betrayed: When Freedom Fails the Immigration Promise” for Reflections, and an accepted chapter on anti-racism, cultural awareness, humility, and competence for Resolving Ethical Challenges in Social Work Practice.

Writing and book conversation inquiries