Christine Wolf
Author
Christine Wolf, MSW-LICSW is a psychotherapist, social worker, and mother. Born in Germany to WWII refugees and raised in Venezuela, Christine immigrated to the United States at age twenty, settling not long after in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After earning her undergraduate degree at UMass-Boston and her master’s degree at Smith College School of Social Work, Christine went on to enjoy a long career in the field, leading seminars, trainings, and working with at-risk youth. Her work with those who have suffered trauma and the long-term effects of violence was further informed by her own experiences as the mother of a murder victim—her 19-year-old son, Andreas, was killed in 1989—and as a child of refugees.
Her memoir, "Speak for Me, Mom: A Murder, a Trial, and a Mother's Enduring Love," is Christine's unvarnished firsthand account of the emotionally charged time that began the night of her son’s murder and recounts the homicide investigation, the arrest of the murder suspect, the grueling trial, and the aftermath of a crime that ultimately impacted and changed the trajectory of so many lives.
Based on the author’s handwritten journals as well as intimate letters she wrote to Andreas after his death, "Speak for Me, Mom" is a cautionary tale of youth, naivete, and the immense and lasting pain that can result from a single act executed without consideration of consequences. It’s a story of the high price exacted by youth violence in America; the confounding labyrinth that is the US court system; an examination of traumatic grief; and one mother’s search to find meaning amidst a crushing loss.
Christine lives in the Boston suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts.