Christina Marsden Gillis

Where Edges Don't Hold Christina Marsden Gillis

"What is it like to live on an island?"



Author Christina Marsden Gillis hears this question often; Where Edges Don't Hold is her passionate and thoughtful reply. In this collection of powerful essays, Gillis gives us the example of Gotts Island, a small land mass off the coast of Maine where she has spent all the summers of her adult life, a place where all roads lead to the sea, and tidal cycles govern the passage of time.



The four sections of Gillis' collection celebrate what she describes as an island in motion. "Geography in Motion" reminds us that movement, like the tides, affects perspective and perception. "Recognition" presents the pleasure of "knowing again," recalling places and experiences from the past and seeing their relevance in the present. In "Quarries," an abandoned quarry site serves as a metaphor for unearthing stories, histories, and identity. "Crossings," concluding the book, questions and tests boundaries and firm margins that limit experience and potential.



In the smallest of moments, Gillis sees profound themes; in a small island with ever-changing edges she finds a place in which to anchor a life.