Author of Afghan Culture Cat Parenti Recently Featured on Close Up Radio

BISBEE, AZ, UNITED STATES, May 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cat Parenti is a woman with an engaging story to tell; in fact, she has more than one story that outlines her incredible life and illustrates why she was named one of this podcast’s most empowering women.

The first story, which later became the title of her book, is about how she made her way From Brooklyn to Kabul (Afghanistan.) A subplot of that account is her romance, and how she met a man named Jamal, of Noble breeding and knew in an instant that they had a past life love connection, and a destiny to fulfill. Another side of her story is when she became a counter spy for the mujahideen, the Afghan resistance during the days of the Soviet War in Afghanistan (1978 to 90). She travelled back and forth from the US to Pakistan and then climbed the Hindu Kush mountains into Afghanistan every 6 months.

There is also the story of her daughter, Chandra, who was born out of the intense love between Jamal and Cat. Chandra never got to know her father who perished in a Soviet bombing raid. There is also the recounting of the Afghan Women’s Empowerment Project, a cultural initiative Cat launched to help Afghani Afghan women, particularly young widows, achieve financial independence using their indigenous embroidery skills.

Any of these life aspects would make for a most informative and engaging story, and in the April podcast, Cat Parenti will address them as best she can in 30 minutes. Cat is a transplanted New Yorker who lived in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the most challenging political years, from King Zahir Shah to the rise of the Taliban. She is a graduate of Fordham University, who lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan on and off for about 20 years and built a career for herself and others trading artful goods, such as antique clothing and tribal jewelry with stunning pieces w along the East coast. To date, Cat, an amazon best seller, has published five books regarding Afghan/Pak customs and culture.

When Cat first made her way to Afghanistan, she fell in love in more ways than one. Enamored by the markets, her free-spirited life at the time, the arts, the food and the warmth of the Afghan people. She absorbed it all like a sponge.

Cat also fell in love with Jamal, believing it was not the first time their paths had crossed. She and Jamal developed a unique relationship, where they would spend time on two continents, each for about 6 months. Their precious moments were balanced by her business interests in America and his as a well-regarded ship’s broker builder who travelled around the Mideast and East Asia. They would share itineraries through daily ship to shore calls and letters. They also communicated telepathically, especially when she was in Brooklyn. At the end, sensing he was in trouble, she asked her husband to wait for her return.

Cat’s love of the country changed when war broke out and the Afghans she found so beautiful were brutally harmed, tortured and even murdered. She watched people die, suffer, or defect, and was later awarded for her role in helping people escape the Soviet horror the Taliban and cities like Kandahar. As the Afghans climbed over the mountains into the refugee camps in Pakistan, she then obtained US visas for them.

“For years I maintained a multiple entry visa. I would go wherever I was needed. Back then, you could just buy a ticket at the airport. I went to Afghanistan the first time when I was just 22. My New York family thought I was insane. But it wasn’t madness, it was Kismet.”

Throughout her years, Cat was an exporter of Afghan tribal goods, participated in high society parties, espionage, negotiations, freedom fighting, and humanitarian aid. When she returned to the US to have her child, she began a new chapter. Cat focused on her daughter’s health concerns which include seizures and being nonverbal due to Cat’s exposure to Soviet chemical warfare. Later Cat and her daughter “adopted” a young Afghan family, and both families thrived. The relationship led to a business partnership helping young widows who had no family left. Cat helped to supply cloth, thread, and a place for the women to dwell.

She keeps and sells their long scarves and returns the money to them taking nothing for herself while supporting the Afghan family who manage this effort. The women also sell their work in the local women’s bazaars. For the first time ever, these women now earn their own income and function as head of their own households. That is the mission of The Women’s Empowerment Project.

This is just a taste of all that Cat Parenti has accomplished. She will tell more details of her life story -- before and after she went from Brooklyn to Kabul as her memoir title says -- in the podcast.

Close Up Radio recently featured Cat Parenti in an interview with Jim Masters on Thursday May 7th at 4pm Eastern

Listen to the Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-up-radio-spotlights-author-of-afghan-culture/id1785721253?i=1000766787280
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-close-up-radio-242020413/episode/close-up-radio-spotlights-author-of-afghan-culture-cat-parenti-332998840
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xAp1khWWYHzUo9RcOzVQt

For more information about Cat’s Life and books, visit her website www.catparenti.com

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
+1 631-850-3314
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