Barb asked Christine Kindberg:

I am half done with The Means That Make Us Strangers and it is such a good book, just had to tell you, so I will think of a question. Did you write this book because you lived in so many different countries?

Christine Kindberg Thank you, Barb! How kind—I’m glad you’re enjoying the book! To answer your question, I didn’t consciously set out to write about my experiences—I wanted to tell the story of a white outsider in the 1960s and explore the divisions caused by race in the US. But since an international move is what makes Adelaide a white outsider, I did end up using some of my own experiences as a touch point for what Adelaide goes through, especially in cross cultural transition. So even though the circumstances are pretty different, a lot of Adelaide’s feelings are something I’ve felt at some time or another. Some of the feelings I didn’t even realize were my own until I re-read the manuscript later!

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