Mother of youngest Tucson shooting victim shares memories of her daughter in new book

TUCSON, AZ - The mother of a Tucson girl shot and killed at an event to meet former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson last January is honoring her daughter with the written word.

"It's just too painful for me to read it. I feel in time, I probably will," says Roxanna Green, mother of Christina Taylor Green, the youngest victim of the Tucson shootings, regarding her new book called "As Good As She Imagined".

It's a book she never planned to write, but others did.  

"It was the last thing we really wanted to do, is write a book so soon. But we were approached by several authors who said if we didn't they were going to write it without us," Green said.

Christina Taylor Green was born Sept 11, 2001, a day of tragedy and chaos.

She died last year in the Tucson shooting in violent chaos again. It is the days and moments in her short life that her mother clings to as she tries to find her way out of the heartache.

Green says, "We still cry and we still have dark days and dark times and it's really painful -- especially on holidays, and when we see children her age."

I asked, "What do you say to her when you are alone?"

"I just tell her what we're doing with the foundation. We have the Christina Taylor Green Foundation we founded in her name and her memory and I almost can feel her with us," Green said.

As for the suspected shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, she's just now strong enough to talk publicly about him.

"It doesn't really matter to me you know,' Green said. "What happens to him just long as he's never let go and that he can never hurt someone like he hurt my family and all the other families."

This book and the foundation are a tribute to their little girl whose mission was always to leave this world a better place.  

Green shares, "I wish she was here with us, but I think she'd be proud of all the good things that have come out of this tragedy."