{"id":2778,"date":"2020-09-10T18:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/alumniandfamilies\/?page_id=2778"},"modified":"2020-09-10T18:33:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T18:33:41","slug":"gabriellaburnham09","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/alumniandfamilies\/virtuallongwalk\/bantamcheckins\/gabriellaburnham09\/","title":{"rendered":"Bantam Check-In with Gabriella Burnham ’09"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/span>fter <\/span>a ten-year ca<\/span>reer working<\/span> in immigration law, Gabriella <\/span>Burnham <\/span>decided <\/span>earlier this year <\/span>to leave <\/span>her job at<\/span> a<\/span>n international <\/span>law firm to <\/span>pursue <\/span>a career as a novelist<\/span>.<\/span> S<\/span>he did<\/span> not<\/span> know<\/span>, however,<\/span> that New York City would go into<\/span> a COVID-19<\/span> lockdown a few weeks later<\/span>. A<\/span>nd yet, she <\/span>felt<\/span> pre<\/span>pared for this moment. Burnham graduated from Trinity College<\/span> with an English Literature degree<\/span> in 2009, at the height of the economic recession. Her first job out of college was as a hostess at a now-defunct seafood restaurant on the Berlin Turnpike. <\/span>She<\/span> had<\/span> navigat<\/span>e<\/span>d<\/span> big<\/span> career <\/span>changes<\/span> during <\/span>times of <\/span>economic<\/span> and social<\/span> turmoil<\/span> before<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Gabriella Burnham ’09<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Though her <\/span>career path<\/span> has taken her from<\/span> reporting to teaching,<\/span> the service industry to the legal world, Burnham has always kept her love for literature close. <\/span>While working as <\/span>the<\/span> Education Lead for an immigration law practice, Burnham earned<\/span> her MFA on the side, and took her mornings<\/span>,<\/span> nights<\/span>, and weekends <\/span>to work on a novel she never imagined she would publish. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWriting was a way to remind m<\/span>yself<\/span> of my true passion. To keep <\/span>my interests alive<\/span> outside of the corporate <\/span>world<\/span>.<\/span> I never wrote thinking I needed to get published and have it <\/span>be<\/span> my big break<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That changed in the summer of 2018, when she finished the book<\/span>,<\/span> and <\/span>embarked on<\/span> a<\/span> long<\/span> road trip<\/span> up the Pacific Coast <\/span>H<\/span>ighway. It was only when she returned that she decided to try to find a literary agent<\/span>. <\/span>Although she began the process with no expectations,<\/span> her manuscript was <\/span>bought<\/span> by<\/span> One World, an imprint<\/span> of<\/span> Penguin Random<\/span> H<\/span>ou<\/span>se<\/span>, and was published this summer<\/span>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The novel, <\/span>set<\/span> in Brazil, is about a woman named Linda who moves to S<\/span>\u00e3<\/span>o Pa<\/span>ul<\/span>o because her husband is offered a prestigious teaching residency. <\/span>Linda <\/span>is dealing with a feeling that <\/span>her <\/span>own <\/span>life has been <\/span>consumed <\/span>by her husband<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s<\/span> ambitions<\/span>\u2014and a<\/span>lthough s<\/span>he is<\/span> considering separati<\/span>ng <\/span>from h<\/span>im<\/span>, she decides to accompany him<\/span> to Brazil<\/span>. The ensuing story <\/span>is <\/span>of Linda\u2019s journey<\/span> as she deals with<\/span> opposing <\/span>class and race <\/span>dynamics in S\u00e3o Paulo, particularly through <\/span>relationships with<\/span> her maid, Marta, and an artist named Celia<\/span> with whom she forms a romantic connection. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrazil has been part of me for such a long time,\u201d <\/span>said Burnham, who<\/span> is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Brazil. <\/span>\u00a0\u201cBecause I grew up in the United States, and my sister and I are first generation<\/span>, the book was<\/span> about <\/span>reconnecting with my Brazilian heritage.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The book is<\/span> in<\/span> part Burnham\u2019s exploration of a fracture in her identity between her life in the United States, and her heritage in another country. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>M<\/span>y family does not have a history in the U.S., but my li<\/span>ved<\/span> experience<\/span> is here,\u201d she explained. <\/span>The story also connects to Hartford\u2014it is <\/span>where the <\/span>main couple<\/span> live<\/span>s before they move to S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s important to choose settings<\/span> in<\/span> your writing<\/span> that<\/span> you have an <\/span>affinity<\/span> \u00a0for<\/span>\u2026<\/span> Hartford<\/span> is a <\/span>city<\/span> I feel connected to<\/span>.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Gabriella Burnham’s first novel, “It Is Wood, It Is Stone” came out this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her <\/span>writing and time in isolation <\/span>has helped her navigate a dizzying confluence of social justice issues, COVID-19, and the economic crisis. \u201cIn some ways, being a writer, there\u2019s a part of you where you burrow into your imagination and that\u2019s where you retreat <\/span>to make sense of the outside world<\/span>,\u201d Burnham said. At the same time, she recognizes the shared experience that the past several months <\/span>have<\/span> offered. \u201cThe pandemic has a push and pull of <\/span>need<\/span>ing<\/span> to isolate from <\/span>people<\/span>, and<\/span> wanting <\/span>to be<\/span> in <\/span>collective space <\/span>to fight for racial justice<\/span>. That\u2019s where I found solidarity<\/span>\u2014<\/span>going on the streets and protesting for a better life for all people.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

She has also been pleased to see how <\/span>books <\/span>have provided a means of solace for people during these <\/span>uncertain <\/span>times<\/span>. \u201cPeople are reading now <\/span>as a way to<\/span> learn about<\/span> anti<\/span>–<\/span>raci<\/span>sm, to <\/span>find ways to enrichen their time<\/span>, or <\/span>maybe even because<\/span> they ran out of things to watch on Netflix,\u201d <\/span>she said.<\/span> B<\/span>ooks<\/span> endure as comfort through periods of change and growth. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Books are also a tool of connection for<\/span> Burnham. <\/span>Re<\/span>ading <\/span>had allowed her<\/span> to reconnect with some of her Trinity friends. When she did a Zoom launch event for her book, she saw Trinity names popping up in attendees. <\/span>Not long after, sh<\/span>e received an email from some friends looking to restart a feminist book club from their time at Trinity. Burnham and the club have now reconnected, and have relabeled their group an intersectional reading group. They\u2019re starting with a<\/span>n essay<\/span> by Audre Lord<\/span>e, and have come together with a renewed enthusiasm after more than a decade.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The power of literature has had a<\/span>n indelible <\/span>effect <\/span>o<\/span>n Burnham\u2019s life. <\/span>For students and recent alumni who have just entered the workforce, Burnham urges them to take pride in the liberal arts. \u201cIf you think back to 2009 when I graduated from Trinity, we were in the peak of the recession,\u201d she said. Although there is a push to emphasize career-oriented studies, she wants students and new graduates to remember the value of the liberal arts. “When I worked as a hostess I was still writing, when I worked at the mall, I was still writing. It\u2019s something you can take with you no matter what <\/span>job you have. Work comes and it goes<\/span>. <\/span>College isn\u2019t just <\/span>about career growth\u2014it\u2019s<\/span> about<\/span> discovering your<\/span> passion<\/span>s<\/span> and desire<\/span>s<\/span> and learnedness about something that you actually care about,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you keep that in your life, not only will<\/span> you<\/span> be a happier person<\/span>,<\/span> but it will take you <\/span>to a place in life that is <\/span>absolutely unexpected.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more on Burnham’s novel, It Is Wood, It Is Stone<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a ten-year career working in immigration law, Gabriella Burnham decided earlier this year to leave her job at an international law firm to pursue a career as a novelist. She did not know, however, that New York City would go into a COVID-19 lockdown a few weeks later. And yet, she felt prepared for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"parent":2154,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2778","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBantam Check-In with Gabriella Burnham '09 - Alumni and Families<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/alumniandfamilies\/virtuallongwalk\/bantamcheckins\/gabriellaburnham09\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bantam Check-In with Gabriella Burnham '09\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a ten-year career working in immigration law, Gabriella Burnham decided earlier this year to leave her job at an international law firm to pursue a career as a novelist. 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