Autobiography of a Georgia Cat

Welcome to www.georgiacat.com, the website of Michael Cowl Gordon. He is the author of a novel entitled Autobiography of a Georgia Cat. It is the story of a Southern African-American family as it struggles with the illness and death of a granddaughter who is married to a Jewish man. Spiritual and family themes are emphasized. The story is narrated by Black Jack, the family cat, who also tells of his own life as an indoor-outdoor cat in Marietta, Georgia. Much space is devoted to "feline" mythology and spirituality which have a distinctly Native American flavor. The strands of many cultures are woven into the fabric of this story, leaving the reader with a positive message of hope and of the oneness of all things.

Animal lovers will never look at their pets the same again after meeting Black Jack, a deeply spiritual cat with a wry sense of humor. He agonizes through the alcoholism of his guardian, Archie, and the increasing decrepitude of Archie's wife, Cora, and her centenarian mother. The constant outpouring of gospel music from Mama's radio adds to the spiritual power of this charming story. Whether from his commentary on dogs, fur balls, human nature, or whatever he has on his mind as he tells his tale, the reader will know that he has had an encounter with a wise, wonderful, and unforgettable feline.

Mike Gordon is a practicing physician in Smyrna, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, at the Ridgeview Institute. His specialty is addiction medicine. He says he wrote this story as an answer to his own grief after the death of his beloved wife, Gena "Penny" Browder Gordon, in 1992. The story deals with issues of grief and loss, addiction recovery, and spirituality, and would appeal to anyone with such an interest, as well as to anyone who enjoys a good story. It would especially appeal to cat lovers, as it is almost as much about cats as it is about people. Mike has been happily remarried since 1995 to Judy Linton Gordon. They live in Marietta with their three cats, Smoogie, Tiger, and Lucy Locket. Our beloved Baby Blue passed from this life at age 16 on July 13, 2008, after a brief illness. We miss her terribly, but we believe that wherever she now is, she once again has all four legs.

Autobiography of a Georgia Cat has been named best novel of 2004 by the Georgia Writers Association in the category of self-published first novel. The honor was gratefully received by the author at the annual Georgia Author of the Year banquet held June 4, 2005 at Georgia Tech.

ATTENTION BOOK STORE OWNERS! Autobiography of a Georgia Cat is now available through New Leaf Distributing Company. Please contact them at www.newleaf-dist.com. The book is also still available through Ingram.
The ISBN is 1-4184-4727-7.

Autobiography of a Georgia Cat is featured in the December, 2005 issue of Cat Fancy magazine. It is one of 3 books included in the "Curl up with Kitty" feature of the magazine.

What Life Teaches a Cat, a discussion guide to Autobiography of a Georgia Cat, is now available. It contains chapters on the four main themes of the story (Grief and Loss, Addiction and Codependency, Spirituality, and the Heroic Quest), as well as another chapter on other elements of the story that didn't fit neatly into the first 4 chapters. Each discussion is followed by a set of discussion questions. The guide may be used by psychotherapists doing either individual or group work with clients, school teachers, by book clubs, youth groups, senior citizen clubs, or anyone who wants more insight into the themes of the novel. Click here to order What Life Teaches a Cat or Autobiography of a Georgia Cat. Mike is particularly interested in feedback from anyone who is using the discussion guide.

We are excited to announce that Autobiography of a Georgia Cat can now be purchased at City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133, phone 415-362-8193. Please click here to see other locations where the book is available for purchase.