Christina Iannello grew up in a loving, supportive home. As immigrants from Italy, her family spent her early years living with her grandparents while her parents worked long hours to build a life in Canada. It was in that home that she first learned what it meant to care for others. “My grandmother played a big role in raising us,” she says. “Even though she cared for all of us, I also learned how to care for her.”
Her mother was a kind, hardworking hairstylist—creative, stylish and generous with her time. “I had a wonderful childhood,” Christina says. “Now, looking back, there are things I thought were normal that perhaps were not.” She remembers her mother rearranging furniture late into the night or assembling and disassembling the Christmas tree over and over in a moment of high anxiety. Small rituals that once felt charming gradually became relentless.
