Happy New Year! Join us this week for our very first Tuesday Author interview with Audrey Birnbaum, author of "American Wolf: From Nazi refugee to American Spy. A true story (Holocaust Survivor True Stories)" Learn about what inspired her to write her book, as well as advise for those aspiring to read again, write their own book, and even become a doctor! Happy Reading and Writing!
Author Bio
Growing up in New York in the late 1960s, 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 after day, 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.
Those seeds took root when, 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. AMERICAN WOLF deals with tragedy and loss, while punctuating 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 rearview 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.
Timestamps
00:15 Introduction
1:59 What is your book about?
5:39 What really inspired you to write your book?
7:34 When writing your book, who were you thinking of who the book is for?
11:01 How lnog have you been writing and what made you really start?
14:16 What was your schedule like when you are writing a book?
15:41 What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
16:25 Do you have a favorite writing snack or drink?
17:42 What type of books do you personally enjoy reading?
18:52 Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
19:21 What books did you grow up reading did you have an all time favorite?
22:36 Now as an adult what are some of your favorite books?
25:23 Any advice for someone just starting out reading again?
26:51 Any advice for someone just starting to write?
31:12 Whats one thing people are generally surprised to find out about you?
33:23 Any additional comments?
35:11 Where is the best place for readers to connect with you?
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Our Host Courtney Ripoll-McBride
Music Created/Episode Mastered By: Patrick McBride