Cathy A. Lewis
Author Interview - Cathy A. Lewis
Author of The Road We Took-4 Days in Germany 1933
In 1933, before World War II, and the Holocaust,
the world was unaware of Hitler’s plans to exterminate millions.
Author Cathy A. Lewis discovered a tattered leather suitcase containing her deceased father’s journal documenting his six-week trek through Europe in 1933 while on his way to the 4th Boy Scout World Jamboree, held in Gödöllo, Hungary. After the jamboree, the journey would take the scout troop through Germany on the way to the port of Bremen, where their ship to the U.S. would return them home.
Inspired by her father’s historical recount, The Road We Took is the four-day epic tale of a desperate group of Jewish citizens attempting to escape Nazi-occupied Germany.
Fascinating characters come together in a narrative of extreme courage, budding adolescent love, and their fight for survival.
Life in Germany will never be the same as Hitler and the Nazis advance their propaganda campaign, to systematically murder the Jewish population.
And this was only the beginning.
Author Interview - Cathy A. Lewis
Author I draw inspiration from: Anne Frank, Corrie ten Boom, Nechama Tec, Maya Angelou, William Shakespeare, Alice Walker, Joan Didion
Author Interview - Cathy A. Lewis | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: In a library! It's quiet, no disturbances, and I can focus. If the library is closed, then in my favorite chair with Princess Poopie Peanut Head in my lap.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's
Author Interview - Cathy A. Lewis | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I'm going to share a secret with you. I've always wanted to write but never considered myself qualified to write. I've spent my career as a professional Chef, classically trained at The Culinary Institute of America. I became a Chef way before it became "cool" to be a Chef.
I found my career to be all-consuming, limiting my writing to menu and recipe creation.
In 2018, a major reconstructive repair of my ankle loomed on the horizon. The surgery meant a lengthy recovery-with no walking or work for six months. I knew I needed a creative project to keep me sane.
I've had a small suitcase in my possession since my dad passed in 1995. Within it contained all the artifacts from my father's summer adventure in 1933 with the Boy Scouts of America. The troop spent six-weeks trekking through Europe to the destination of Godollo, Hungary, to attend the 4th Boy Scout World Jamboree. At the end of the Jamboree, the troop spent four days traveling through Germany to the port in Bremen, where the ship home awaited.
In the past, I never had adequate time to investigate the contents of the suitcase that slept in quiet repose for all those years. Now, I had my chance and the time while I recovered from surgery.
To my surprise, inside the suitcase was also my dad's journal, documenting daily what he saw, where he went, and what he thought. As I read his words, it dawned on me that my dad recorded history in real-time!
The daily journal entries came alive, causing me to recall stories my dad shared with me as a young girl. I could hear his voice as I read the words on the pages of the journal.
One passage, in particular, shook me to the core. It was at that moment I knew I had to write about this adventure.
Then, something entirely magical occurred- writing about this would become my destiny, and the author in me came alive.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Hardback and paperback. I love holding a book. For me, it's a very organic experience. I feel connected to the book, literally!
The last book I read: Pentimento- Lillian Hellman. While this book was originally published in 1973, it was always on my radar as a book I wanted to read.
Author Interview - Cathy A. Lewis | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Both. I write ideas, poems, story plots with pen and paper. Book writing is always on my laptop.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: The Diary of Anne Frank- Anne Frank
Author Interview - Cathy A. Lewis | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Professional Chef (Is this life imitating art or art imitating life?)
Favorite decade in fashion history: late 1930's-mid 1940's.
Place I’d most like to travel: Israel
My signature drink: Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, neat.
Favorite artist: musician-Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, various Christian artists. painters-Marcus Uzilevsky, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh
Number one on my bucket list: Go to Belarus for ancestry research
Anything else you'd like to add: My next book will be a cookbook chronicling my 40+ year career. I've had so many unique experiences, for example, to name a few- traveled with an actress to numerous on location movie sets, cooking for an Indy 500 driver(3- time winner!) also cooked for quite a few celebrities, cooked many exclusive wine dinners, one for Prince Robert of Luxembourg, moved a 28k bottle wine cellar of the most collectable wines in the world, owned my own business-I'll include stories and recipes.
Find more from the author:
twitter-@cathyalewis1
instagram-@cathyalewis
FB-C.A.Lewis
my book page-The Road We Took-4 Days in Germany 1933
Author Bio: Cathy is a classically trained Chef and graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York, and culinary entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in her industry. A pioneer in her field, in 1984 she took the position of the first female Executive Chef for the Servico Corporation, a hotel company with 52 properties. Located near Veterans Stadium and The Spectrum, Cathy’s property served The Philadelphia Eagles, The Philadelphia Flyers and The Philadelphia 76’ers, along with visiting musical groups that played at The Spectrum.
Over the course of her career, Cathy capitalized her creative talents as a restaurant owner and partner, conceptualizing and creating brands for three successful startup businesses, Food Works in Pittsford, New York, The Bagel Bin in Penfield, New York, and The Nick of Thyme in Brentwood, Tennessee. It was at the Nick of Thyme that Cathy developed long-standing relationships within the music industry. Her clients included Pam Tillis, Donna Summer Sudano, Naomi Judd, Wynonna Judd, numerous Christian and country music artists, world-renowned wine collectors Billy Ray Hearn and Tom Black. After the sale of her business, Cathy cooked for Wynonna Judd and her family, and traveled extensively to movie locations and Broadway with actress and activist Ashley Judd and her husband, three-time Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti.
Cathy continues to cook privately for exclusive clients and friends.
