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About Caroline Kurtz

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So far Caroline Kurtz has created 13 blog entries.

“Why is Ethiopia at war?” – Interview

“Why is Ethiopia at war?” – Interview

On 4 November 2020 the Ethiopian government’s federal army led an assault on a group of militias in the Tigray province after numerous, apparently unprovoked, attacks on the official army. A year later the war seems to be escalating, with politicians and diplomats scrambling to stop what could become yet another civil war.

• What is the role of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize,

By |2026-05-10T10:44:20+00:00November 17, 2021|Interviews|
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Caroline Kurtz Wins Best First Book Award

Caroline Kurtz Wins Best First Book Award

” Huge congratulations to Caroline Kurtz! Her memoir A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing up in Ethiopia and America was recently awarded the Best First Book Award by the Presbyterian Writers Guild! The award honors the best debut by a Presbyterian author written during 2018-2019. Caroline’s thoughtful memoir of her life as the child of missionaries explores faith, family, and what it means to find home
By |2026-05-10T10:44:20+00:00July 17, 2020|Awards, Book Reviews|
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What Readers are Saying

“When she lost her husband to cancer, (Caroline) made a solo hike along the rugged Oregon coast. . . . Her hike enabled her to shed her old identity and find a new one. . . . This is a beautifully written, poetic memoir.”

Sr. Sarah Schwartzberg, OSB, Spirit & Life Magazine

“Real, raw and truly a sacred story… Kurtz shares her personal vulnerability with readers, creating not just an intellectual exploration of cross-cultural differences, but rather a heart-wrenching witness of what it means to give one’s whole life…not knowing whether one’s hopes or intentions will be realized.”

Rev Dr. Sue Hudson, , The Presbyterian Out

“I finished this gripping story in a couple sittings because I wanted to know, badly, what would come of this remarkable girl raised on a ridge between two very different worlds. […] This is a lyrical rendering of life lived on a fault-line between cultures, where accepted beliefs grind together and sometimes collapse.” 

Tim Bascom, , Author of Chameleon Days and Running to the Fire

“Walking the Tideline invites us to join Caroline Kurtz on an intimate journey of self-discovery along the Oregon Coast Trail in the wake of her husband’s passing. Written with warmth and honesty, we experience the beauty, exhaustion, and healing of a sandy pilgrimage anchored in grief, yet longing for release. A story brave in its revelations, and satisfying in its insights, it’s a book that stays with you.”

Henry Trotter, Author of Cape Town: A Place Between

” I pretty much inhaled this book. I read it fast because of the sustained tension in both the domestic and the professional sides of your life.  And you present such a clear evocation of exactly what it was like to be in the scenes you describe–the vividness and specificity took my breath away! ”

Trudy Keheret-Ward, Private correspondence

“Today is Tomorrow” is indeed an incredible statement of hope for all who would like to see the light at the end of the tunnel in South Sudan.

Bishop Dr. Arkanjelo Wani Lemi, Chair of the Technical Committee for establishment of the Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Commission

“A lot of your memoir resonated with how I have interpreted my life between my two homes, how I have interacted with religion, and the place/value Ethiopia has in my present American life. ”

Dr. Woubeshet Ayenew, Fact checker for A Road Called Down on Both Sides

“Caroline Kurtz takes her readers on a journey from Oregon, to Maji, Ethiopia, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Pasadena, California and back to Ethiopia and America with beautiful description, emotional moments, and an enduring love for the people of Ethiopia.”

Janelle M., Amazon.com - Five Stars!

“This beautifully written book is a wonderful read. The story unlocks the power a place and its people can have in helping us become who we should be. I highly recommend this for anyone.”

Laurie Curtis, Amazon.com - Five Stars!

“If you ever dreamed of adventure thrust upon you at an early age, Caroline Kurtz will tell you all about what happens in this story full of lovely detail starting with her arrival at age five in Maji, Ethiopia with her missionary parents.”

Kathryn Gearheard, Amazon.com - Five Stars!

” I started to dread the end as I could not have enough of your reflections on several themes about our common experiences of belonging to both Ethiopia and the USA. ”

Dr. Woubeshet Ayenew, Fact checker for A Road Called Down on Both Sides

” I loved this memoir by Caroline Kurtz. It is a beautifully written account of growing up In two countries that are worlds apart, Ethiopia and the United States. For me, one of the best qualities of the story is that it is not sugar-coated. ”

Nancy McLain, Amazon.com - Five Stars!

“A very interesting memoir worth sharing with a global audience.”
Dr. Worku L. Mulat is tge President of Ethiopian Institute of Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation, honorary professor at Wollo University and research associate at The Tree Foundation

Dr. Worku L. Mulat

“A unique, historically informed perspective on a fascinating nation.”

Kirkus Reviews

“My African friends who read Today Is Tomorrow may wonder if such experiences of an American woman can be real. My American friends who read this may wonder if such experiences in Sudan can be anything but fiction. But knowing Caroline in America and working side-by-side with her in Sudan, I can say that the realities she describes with such sublime word pictures are all real. [Kurtz] is an artistic wordsmith.”

Bill Lowrey, Facilitator of Wunlit (South Sudan) People-to-People peace conference

“Hugely anthropological, historical, cultural and Spiritual.”
Bishop Dr. Arkanjelo Wani Lemi is the Former Presiding Bishop of Africa Inland Church, Former Chair of the South Sudan Council of Churches, Chair of the Technical Committee for establishment of the Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Commission

Bishop Dr. Arkanjelo Wani Lemi and Dr. Worku L. Mulat

Author & Speaker

Caroline Kurtz has been an avid reader and storyteller since childhood. She widened her verbal world by expanding into another language—Amharic—and into writing. Caroline is also a practiced preacher, speaker, and discussion leader. She is available to churches and book clubs in person or by Zoom. Learn more here.

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Mailing Address

PO Box 17652
Portland, OR 97217

Non-Profit E.D.

Caroline is the Executive Director of Maji Development Corporation (MDC). She works with community leaders (in Amharic over Skype-to-phone during Covid) to bring solar energy, clean water and women’s empowerment in Maji.  MDC partners with an Ethiopian non-profit with a branch office in Maji. Visit MDC’s site here.

©2026Caroline Kurtz | All Rights Reserved | Photo Credit Noah Friedman-Rudovsky| Site by Mindy Schmidt

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