Amy Shrodes is the co-author of the children’s book, Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey. The book is a true story about one cat’s journey toward reunion with his war-torn family fleeing Mosul, Iraq. Readers of all ages are inspired by the hope and the power of community that brought Kunkush and his family back together.
Amy traveled to Lesbos island during a sabbatical from her career in the fall of 2015. She first traveled by train through much of the European Union, and observed thousands of refugees attempting to navigate the complex multi-national systems, and planned to travel through Europe to Turkey, then onwards to India. During a walk along the boardwalk near the White Tower in Thessaloniki Greece, Amy met a tarot card reader who encouraged her to stay in Greece for the winter. This inspired her to look for ways to get involved with the crisis she had been witnessing her entire journey thus far. Through a Facebook Group called ‘Third Wave Volunteer Network’, she was able to reach an independent photojournalist named Doug Kuntz (who later became the co-author of Lost and Found Cat). Doug encouraged Amy to make the overnight ferry trip to Lesbos, and helped her find a volunteer placement on the frontlines of the crisis in a small fishing village called Skala Sikamineas. This is where Amy discovered Kunkush, shunned by the island cats, during a break from serving soup and tea at a Greek solidarity camp's seaside kitchen. While continuing to serve in the front lines of the refugee crisis, she cared for Kunkush for more than a month, devising a social media campaign to find his family. The book tells the story of how she worked with other volunteers to create a multi-lingual flyer about Kunkush, find him a foster home closer to where many refugees were resettling, and flew him to Germany to meet his foster family. The team’s three-month-long worldwide social media campaign was eventually successful, and shortly after Valentine’s Day, 2016, Kunkush was reunited with his family.
Amy is now working on a second book, telling the story of a young boy she met while he was separated from his family. When Amy met Mohamad, a sixteen-year-old from Afghanistan, he did not know if his family had survived the dangers of crossing the Aegean Sea, and, if so, where they were. After three months of searching, he was reunited in Germany with his mother, father, two sisters and little brother. Amy’s next book will trace his journey. Mohammad (now 18) and Amy will work together on a young-adult novel to tell the story from the perspectives of Mohamad, Amy, and his mother (Bobo). Although seriously ill, Bobo survived long enough to celebrate the reunion with her son. The book will honor Bobo's life and the sacrifices she made to get her children to a safe place.
Amy was born in 1990 in Denver, Colorado, where she first discovered her deep love for nature and animals. She later spent ten years growing up and working in Oklahoma City, where she witnessed the power of love and working together in dire circumstances. Prior to her work in the refugee crisis, she led marketing and development efforts for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society (OK Humane). During the seven years she was on staff there, she implemented a successful integrated marketing strategy which included an innovative new fundraising plan, coordination of nearly one hundred annual events, training for thousand of volunteers, and serving as OK Humane’s communication leader in the massive reunification effort for displaced pets following the 2013 tornadoes in Moore, OK. During that time, Amy learned about effective communication from serving as the pet-related needs representative on the Long-Term Area Recovery Committee of Oklahoma County, and through this experience, she received a thorough understanding of incident command structure. She has been fueled by a passion to develop direct pathways ever since, often using technology and social media, to connect community resources with those in need.
She is raising awareness about the refugee crisis and its wide-ranging impact on families, children, and the pets they love through speaking engagements about her direct experience and scheduled readings of the book. She stays engaged in service as a pro-bono development advisor for the students at a democratic learning community in Ann Arbor, Michigan and as a volunteer for the One Human Family campaign. In addition to her second book, she's also working on the second season of her podcast called "Unified Threads" (www.unifiedthreads.com). She is the loving guardian of one cat named Yeti, one dog named Olivia, practices yoga daily, and enjoys hiking, rock-climbing, longboarding, music and cooking with friends. To learn more about the book and schedule an author visit, go to www.lostandfoundcat.com.
Social Media:
@amyshrodes (Twitter)
www.linkedin.com/in/amyshrodes
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