A New York Times and national best-seller, Strauss penned this memoir of Charmian Carr (aka ‘Liesl’) from the world beloved The Sound of Music. Full of behind the scenes stories about the making of the film, Forever Liesl became an instant classic for fans of the film. In addition to stories about the halcyon days of filming in Salzburg and L.A., and of the impact the film had on the private lives of the actors, the book tells the tale of Charmian Carr as her life changed forever as “I Am Sixteen Going on Seventeen” Liesl. As Charmy’s personal story unfolds, woven through the narrative of the making of the film and meeting the von Trapp family, she pays homage to the fans, friends and family with whom she has shared her life. Available for purchase at amazon.com, Carr’s story has become one of the ‘favorite things’ of Sound of Music lovers worldwide.

Strauss recalls: “I met Charmy at an event at the Hollywood Bowl, and asked her so many questions about the film that I joked that she should write a book. Within days I was having dinner at her house with Heather and Angela and Kim (aka Louisa, Briggita and Gretl). Then, serendipitously, the Austrian government decided to honor the real von Trapp children and the actors who had portrayed them. None of the actors (who by then were in their 40’s and 50’s) had ever met the von Trapps. Their meeting was incredible and created the foundation for this book. Everyone, from Nicky Hammond to Christopher Plummer to Robert Wise and Ernie Lehman to the rest of the actors and the folks at Rodgers and Hammerstein were so helpful, writing the book for Charmy was just a joy. When the book came out, there were so many people with touching stories – both at booksignings and who wrote her – that it led to our second book together.”