About The Author

A riveting narrative of history, heritage, and adaptation.

About The Author

Catherine (aka Katy) Ehrlich is a nonfiction writer who, under the influence of her grandmother, uses language as her passport to the world. Trained as an Asian linguist (University of Michigan) and diplomat (Johns Hopkins University SAIS), she has been an interpreter, tour guide, trade representative, public relations executive, speechwriter, fundraiser, and marketing consultant in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, as well as New York, Washington DC, Seattle, and Portland. An animal and nature lover, she has served on the Boards of Directors of the Audubon Society of Portland and the Arts Mandalay Foundation. She and her husband, John, take inspiration from nature out of home bases in Oregon and California. Irma’s Passport, her first full-length book, is the culmination of six years of research and writing focused on the true story behind her grandmother’s testimonial memoirs.

Why I Wrote This Book

Long before my charismatic grandmother wrote her memoirs, I viewed her as a source of wisdom. After she died, her notebooks were a treasure trove, but a half-buried one. Her colorful pages were discontinuous and hard to fathom without more context.

I felt called to pass along her wisdom. One of the great things she taught me was the value of learning languages as a passport to other realms. Languages and writing have shaped my life, my career, my world view. I live life as an observer across boundaries; a guide and interpreter; an analytical and interpretive writer. I am an interpreter.

History gives us narratives, but Irma’s story didn’t match most of the narratives I saw. Our cultural narratives overlook the courage of women. Irma Ehrlich lived among a dazzling but unsung cohort of valiant and empowered women whose story is worth re-discovering. In this book I add my interpretation and her treasure in a book for people who enjoy books by Edmund de Waal, Erik Larsen, and writers of historical memoir.