Cathy Ostlere’s first book, Lost: A Memoir was a finalist for the 2009 Edna Staebler Creative Non-fiction Award. The theatrical adaptation of Lost: A Memoir earned her a nomination for a 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. Her YA novel-in-verse, Karma, has garnered many awards and commendations throughout the U.S. and Canada including an Alberta Literary Award, a finalist for the W.O. Mitchel Award, and a 2012 Canadian Library Association Honour Book. She teaches creative writing to teens and is Past President of the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society. She is currently writing a novel set in Ukraine.

Lost: A Memoir

In August of 1995, David Ostlere, and his British girlfriend, Sarah, set sail from Ireland in a boat called Mugwump. The 27-foot yacht is headed for the tropical island of Madeira, 1200 nautical miles south. The journey that should take two weeks becomes a mystery when Mugwump disappears. Lost: A Memoir is a heartrending story of a woman’s search for her missing brother but it is also a search for self—an intimate exploration of love, grief, and meaning. For anyone who has lost a loved sibling, this book will resonate with the story of a brother and sister who change each other’s lives. Lost: A Memoir will also appeal to the reader whose interest in true adventure stories includes the examination of what it means to be passionate, alive, and committed to one’s dreams.

Karma

On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that 15-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world. KARMA is the story of how a young woman, straddling two cultures and enduring personal loss, learns forgiveness, acceptance and love.