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Cathy Lamb

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.CathyLamb.net

Member Since

December 2011

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Cathy Lamb was born in Newport Beach, California. As a child, she mastered the art of skateboarding, catching butterflies in bottles, and riding her bike with no hands. When she was 10, her parents moved her, two sisters, a brother, and two poorly behaved dogs to Oregon before she could fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a surfer bum.

She then embarked on her notable academic career where she earned good grades now and then, spent a great deal of time daydreaming, ran wild with a number of friends, and landed on the newspaper staff in high school. When she saw her byline above an article about people making out in the hallways of the high school, she knew she had found her true calling.

After two years of partying at the University of Or Cathy Lamb was born in Newport Beach, California. As a child, she mastered the art of skateboarding, catching butterflies in bottles, and riding her bike with no hands. When she was 10, her parents moved her, two sisters, a brother, and two poorly behaved dogs to Oregon before she could fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a surfer bum.

She then embarked on her notable academic career where she earned good grades now and then, spent a great deal of time daydreaming, ran wild with a number of friends, and landed on the newspaper staff in high school. When she saw her byline above an article about people making out in the hallways of the high school, she knew she had found her true calling.

After two years of partying at the University of Oregon, she settled down for the next three years and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, and became a fourth grade teacher. It was difficult for her to become proper and conservative but she threw out her red cowboy boots and persevered. She had no choice. She had to eat, and health insurance is expensive.

She met her husband on a blind date. A mutual friend who was an undercover vice cop busting drug dealers set them up. It was love at third sight.

Teaching children about the Oregon Trail and multiplication facts amused her until she became so gigantically pregnant with twins she looked like a small cow and could barely walk. With a three year old at home, she decided it was time to make a graceful exit and waddle on out. She left school one day and never went back. She likes to think her students missed her.

When Cathy was no longer smothered in diapers and pacifiers, she took a turn onto the hazardous road of freelance writing and wrote almost 200 articles on homes, home décor, people and fashion for a local newspaper. As she is not fashionable and can hardly stand to shop, it was an eye opener for her to find that some women actually do obsess about what to wear. She also learned it would probably be more relaxing to slam a hammer against one’s forehead than engage in a large and costly home remodeling project.

Cathy suffers from, “I Would Rather Play Than Work Disease” which prevents her from getting much work done unless she has a threatening deadline. She likes to hang with family and friends, walk, eat chocolate, camp, travel, and is slightly obsessive about the types of books she reads. She also likes to be left alone a lot so she can hear all the odd characters in her head talk to each other and then transfer that oddness to paper. The characters usually don’t start to talk until 10:00 at night, however, so she is often up ‘til 2:00 in the morning with them. That is her excuse for being cranky.

She adores her children and husband, except when he refuses to take his dirty shoes off and walks on the carpet. She will ski because her children insist, but she secretly doesn’t like it at all. Too cold and she falls all the time.

She is currently working on her next book and isn’t sleeping much. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Cathy Lamb Ah ha...

Where did I get the ideas for my most recent book, What I Remember Most, out in September 2014...

Grenadine Scotch Wild is my main character's …moreAh ha...

Where did I get the ideas for my most recent book, What I Remember Most, out in September 2014...

Grenadine Scotch Wild is my main character's name. As soon as I had her name, I felt like I was on a roll, writing wise. Why that name? Whose idea was that? Who likes Scotch?

Grenadine is a collage artist and painter. I decided to make her an artist because I have always wanted to be an artist but have zero talent.

Grenadine is also on the run. Her husband was an "investor" who lost his clients' money. She was implicated in his schemes, though she had only been married to the jerk for a year and was completely innocent.

I was interested in what it would feel like to have your whole world collapse, to be arrested and jailed for a weekend, to lose your home and have your bank accounts locked up.

Where would you go? How would you survive? How do you start over? How do you avoid jail for a crime you didn't commit?

And, I was interested in Grenadine's back story. When she was six, her parents disappeared on a foggy, scary night in the woods. She was put in foster care and never knew what happened to them.

Though the story is written first person, through Grenadine's eyes, I tell her back story through children services reports, police reports, a court transcript, police reports and letters. I was interested in writing through a different structure.

Hope you like it!

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Comment: Page 98 in my edition of "Julia's Chocolates"..."She had that look women get when they've absolutely had it. When they've given up on their husbands. When they're no longer in love with them, and, worse, they no longer love them even as a friend or father of their children....." W.O.W!!! One bottle of wine and a box of tissues later and I realized that is how I felt. Now divorced. Blissfully single. ?

Cathy Lamb I am so glad, Beth, that you are now "blissfully single." It is a brave step to leave lousy relationships. I hope this note finds you happy and well a…moreI am so glad, Beth, that you are now "blissfully single." It is a brave step to leave lousy relationships. I hope this note finds you happy and well and enjoying the new, and free, you!(less)

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Cathy Lamb’s books

Average rating: 3.99 · 47,031 ratings · 6,257 reviews · 24 distinct works • Similar authors

	Julia's Chocolates 3.86 avg rating — 7,924 ratings — published 2007 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Henry's Sisters 4.09 avg rating — 6,489 ratings — published 2009 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Time I Was Me 4.08 avg rating — 5,136 ratings — published 2008 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Such a Pretty Face 3.98 avg rating — 4,637 ratings — published 2010 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What I Remember Most 4.22 avg rating — 3,251 ratings — published 2014 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The First Day of the Rest of My Life 3.95 avg rating — 2,715 ratings — published 2011 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Man She Married 3.76 avg rating — 2,370 ratings — published 2018 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Different Kind of Normal 3.97 avg rating — 2,233 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Very Best Friend 4.07 avg rating — 1,984 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No Place I'd Rather Be 4.11 avg rating — 1,960 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Cathy Lamb's Blog

My Brain is a Mess, but I’m Still Writing

Greetings, all.

This is my latest newsletter on Substack.

Yes, you can read it for free. Have a happy day.

https://open.substack.com/pub/cathylamb/p/my-brain-is-a-mess?r=kayfq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Cathy’s Recent Updates

Cathy Lamb wrote a new blog post My Brain is a Mess, but I’m Still Writing Greetings, all. This is my latest newsletter on Substack. Yes, you can read it for free. Have a happy day. https://open.substack.com/pub/cathyla... Read more of this blog post »
Oct 15, 2025 02:16AM · like

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Quotes by Cathy Lamb (?)

“But grief is a walk alone. Others can be there, and listen. But you will walk alone down your own path, at your own pace, with your sheared-off pain, your raw wounds, you denial, anger, and bitter loss. You'll come to your own peace, hopefully, but it will be on your own, in your own time.”
― Cathy Lamb, The First Day of the Rest of My Life

tags: grief

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“Grab the love. Hold on tight. Treasure it. Put that love you have for your husband first, arrange everything else around it, and all else will work out. Love must be cradled and nurtured and enjoyed and danced with. Never, ever, forget the love. It's why we want to live.
Aunt Lydia's character, Julia's Chocolates”
― Cathy Lamb

27 likes

“I laughed until my fat hurt.”
― Cathy Lamb

24 likes

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Polls

Please vote for one book for our 2014 November BB's Choice...

Still Alice

Lisa Genova

4 votes 23.5%

Winter Street

Elin Hilderbrand

4 votes 23.5%

A Sudden Light

by Garth Stein

3 votes 17.6%

Station Eleven

Emily St. John Mandel

3 votes 17.6%

Julia's Chocolates

Cathy Lamb

1 vote 5.9%

We Are Not Ourselves

Matthew Thomas

1 vote 5.9%

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You

Courtney MaumYou|18775284]

1 vote 5.9%

A Wedding in December

Anita Shreve

0 votes 0.0%

17 total votes

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