Audrey Birnbaum
Author Interview - Audrey Birnbaum
Author of American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy
In the summer of 1941, 11-year old Wolf is growing up amidst the rubble and antisemitism of war-torn Nazi Berlin. Destitute and facing deportation, he must leave behind his sister and travel with his family across a continent entrenched in war. With nothing in hand but expired visas to the US, Wolf and his family must figure out how to sneak aboard the Spanish freighter the Navemar, a ship that will gain its reputation as the "Hell Ship of Death." But this is only the beginning of Wolf's saga.
"American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy" is a heart-stopping true story full of last-minute rescues, near-death encounters, and survival against untold odds. It is also a story about coming of age, family dysfunction and national identity, and is a resounding testament to the triumph of the human spirit.
Using the notes compiled by her father, author Audrey Birnbaum vividly retells a poignant account of Wolf's childhood in Berlin, his riveting escape from Nazi Germany, and the continued challenges he faced even as he reached freedom.
Author Interview - Audrey Birnbaum
Author I draw inspiration from:
I’m a big fan of Zadie Smith. I thought her book “On Beauty” was a masterpiece. I shall have to reread it before I die.
Author Interview - Audrey Birnbaum | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
I have an L-shaped couch. The corner spot is reserved for me—or maybe I just claimed it. Somedays my feet go to the left, and other days, to the right.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
To be fair I haven’t actually read this book series…but if I have to be stuck in an elevator, it will be with Jamie Fraser from Diane Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Jamie will either rescue me from that horrible elevator, prying the doors open with his bare hands and lifting me up weightlessly to freedom, or we will be trapped together in the dark, and then, who knows…. ?
I know this is not a serious answer, but I really don’t want to be stuck in an elevator, so allow me to make it fun.
Author Interview - Audrey Birnbaum | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
…was AFTER I wrote American Wolf. I wrote the book out of a sense of obligation to tell my father’s extraordinary story, not because I had plans to become an author. I didn’t really know if I could write well, or if writing was even something I enjoyed. I found that the process of writing and editing was very enjoyable for me, like finessing a work of art. It also relaxed my busy mind. And the feedback on the book has been very good, so at least I know I’m a capable writer! Afterwards, I started to see and read everything through a writer’s lens, and I realized there were more books in me.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Great question! I love to own a hardback for posterity, but it’s too heavy to lug around. I’m good with a paperback but my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. So I find myself using ebooks a fair amount, dialing up to a font that puts about ten words on a page. I feel badly about not owning the physical book, and I also know that authors get paid pennies (if that) for ebook sales, but this mode works best for me, and it is also easy for travel. I have tried audiobooks and I am not a fan, although I know people love them. I feel as though I use a different part of my brain when I am reading to create my own sounds and images, and I lose that sense of immersion when I am listening to a book.
The last book I read:
I just finished re-reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I had read it in the early 90s and its definitely worth reading again as a mature person with a different perspective on life and love. And as a writer? It’s a master class! I was, frankly, jealous. We both have parrots in our books, and his parrot was better than my parrot! (Of course, his was invented and mine was real, which allowed him artistic license.) Still, his language and imagery were unparalleled.
Author Interview - Audrey Birnbaum | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I write on a laptop, not always in the same room, although sometimes in my cozy reading corner. I don’t use an outline, although the basic story line and conflicts are worked out in advance. My writing is character driven, and once I flesh out the characters and their motives, they seem to write themselves, each with their own distinct voice.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
This was the hardest question you asked and I had to come back to it. I am definitely drawn to strong women characters. In classic novels, their independence all leads to unhappiness, social ostracization or the tragic outcome of death. So I love Anna Karenina, Tess Durbeyfield, Lilly Barth, Emma Bovary, but —spoiler alert—they all die. But modern day female heroism in books can also feel like tokenism and what I am looking for is an honest portrayal of a real woman. She will be a mixed bag with great strengths as well as flaws. To be my best friend might be a big ask! So instead I will name two female characters that I would be thrilled to know: Sonja, in Anthony Marra’s brilliant book “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,” and Susan Ward in Wallace Stegner’s American classic “Angle of Repose.” Both these women are survivors in unbearable circumstances, Sonja in the midst of war, death and despair in Chechnya, and Sonja in the isolation and travails of the early American West. Both must do the best they can with what little they have and without complaint… that ingenuity is something I can really relate to and admire. Both find love and beauty within the proverbial ashes and manage to do good work despite the hardships that surround them—Sonja as a surgeon, and Susan as a writer and artist. And both are also broken from the terrible circumstances they find themselves in. I have spent time in their company (twice for Susan and once for Sonja) and will probably do so again; these books are worth re-reading. Frankly, these characters are already my friends!
Author Interview - Audrey Birnbaum | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I had a long and successful career as a physician with a specialty in Pediatric Gastroenterology. I loved my profession but it was all-consuming and I left in 2020. Now, besides writing, I sing in two choruses, play mah jongg, have a thriving book club, travel, and try to see my kids as often as I can. That’s enough for now. In my fantasy profession, I would write comedy and maybe even perform it.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
1920’s. I think I would look good in a flapper dress which might even hide my love handles. It sure looked good in Downton Abbey.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Chile. A friend of mine has been sending me photos from her trip, and I realize I have somehow skipped the entire continent of South America. Her photos of Santiago are stunning.
My signature drink:
An old-fashioned… but I like to think that does not describe my personality, only the simplicity of a perfectly balanced cocktail.
Favorite artist:
It might sound cliché, but it’s Van Gogh. His art moves me to tears.
Number one on my bucket list:
This was an interesting question, because it made me realize that I no longer have bucket list items that contain risk; I don’t want to jump out of airplanes anymore, apparently. Instead, most of my list involves seeing new and interesting things; exposing myself to the world and learning. I read a book titled “To Walk it is to See it,” about walking the GR5 trail, a footpath that starts in the Netherlands and goes straight through the heart of Europe. That really inspired me. I’ve always loved the idea of walking…and walking and walking and walking. Now to convince my husband…
Anything else you'd like to add:
These questions were not only fun, but they challenged me to be introspective. Thanks!
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About Audrey Birnbaum:
Growing up in New York in the late 1960's, Audrey Birnbaum assumed that watching Holocaust documentaries was a perfectly normal family activity. On her first day of elementary school, Audrey sat in the cafeteria, unwrapped her liverwurst sandwich, and excitedly told her new classmates about her public television proclivities. Her Brady Bunch-watching peers had never heard of PBS, but they had heard of PB&J (and they weren't too keen on liverwurst either). They made it abundantly clear: Audrey's childhood was, in fact, not normal at all.
We will never know whether it was schoolyard bullying or watching tragic Shoah documentaries that was responsible for Audrey's acute sensitivity to others; but that empathy may have helped pave the way for her choice of medicine as a career. Audrey chose to specialize in Pediatric Gastroenterology - for who needed more help than children; and where could anyone feel more suffering than in one's gut? Day in and day out, she watched intricate family dynamics play out in the context of fragile health. Audrey listened to each patient's story until she could retell it with clarity and give it meaning. Through witnessing and recording these tender dramas, the seeds of writing had been planted.
Shortly after her father's death in 2018, Audrey stumbled upon his extensive notes detailing his childhood escape from Nazi Germany. Audrey felt compelled to start writing his riveting story - a story addressing themes that are pressingly relevant today. While "American Wolf" deals with tragedy and loss, it punctuates the triumph of the human spirit. It is a memoir of Holocaust survival, a family drama, an immigration tale, and an often funny coming-of-age story that is sure to have an impact on anyone who has experienced prejudice, displacement, or questions about their identity.
With her cherished medical career in the rear-view mirror, Audrey now enjoys singing, writing, reading, and being with friends who also had quirky childhoods. She lives with her husband in Westchester County, New York, and has three marvelous grown children. Audrey is currently working on her second book.
