How to Be Both is a story of two people intertwined, as they help each other to become better and understanding the world around them. Georgie, who is a young girl that is having a crisis as her mother just died, receives help from an artist her mother liked. Cossa, who died many years ago, returns from heaven to help this young girl. At the beginning of both their stories, Cossa and Georgie don’t seem connected, though it is clear later on that they are.
There is a silver lining through the whole story, and Cossa’s name and art becomes a red herring frequently used by Smith to show what will happen later in the story. Georgie spends a lot of her time thinking of her she acted around her mother, wishing she had been a better daughter, as she believes she acted out, the same way a general teenager does. However, she was unaware that she wouldn’t be able to redeem herself to her mom before she was taken away from her.
Georgie’s problems are real and hard, however; when remembering her mom, she also remembers things she has told her. She used to tell her about history, and how it never vanishes. She then thinks of how her mother was alive yet isn’t alive anymore. Finally, she looks closer into Cossa’s art, realizing that he had the same though process as her mom.
Cossa had art portraying water falling and becoming stone, being both at the same time. When Cossa returned to earth, he could show Georgie how all the things stuck together and were intertwined, letting her move on from the grief of her mother whilst understanding more about who she was and how the world works, thus also letting Cossa move on back to heaven.
