Yusuf/Cat Stevens Details New Memoir ‘Cat On The Road To Findout’

Yusuf / Cat Stevens detailed his highly anticipated memoir. Cat On The Road To Findout arrives on September 18 in the UK via Constable and on October 7 in North America through Genesis Publications.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens has had a remarkable life. Achieving pop success in late 1960s London with songs “Matthew and Son” and “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” Cat Stevens cemented his status as a generational talent with his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman, which contained the timeless songs “Where Do The Children Play,” “Wild World” and “On The Road To Find Out.”

As the title for the latter suggests, Stevens’ ‘70s music was marked by spiritual searching, partially stemming from a near-fatal bout with tuberculosis in 1969 just ahead of his two 1970 releases Mona Bone Jakon and Tillerman. In 1975, he faced death again, nearly drowning while swimming in the ocean. Soon after he converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam.

He left music and dedicated his life to “God, family and humanitarian work,” as per a press release, “for which he received numerous prestigious international honors, including the World Award for ‘humanitarian relief work helping children and victims of war’ and the Man of Peace Award, voted for by The Nobel Peace Laureates.”

Yusuf/Cat Stevens recently returned to music, releasing his album King of a Land in 2023 and revisiting some of his classic records. He is now set to publish Cat On The Road To Find Out. Yusuf/Cat Stevens shared a statement along with the memoir announcement:

“I’ve been on an amazing journey, which began in the narrow streets of London, and led me through the most iconic cities, to perform upon the great stage of Western culture, ascending the dizzying heights of wealth, recognition and artistic pinnacles; freely exploring vast ranges of religions and philosophies, wandering through churches, temples, all the way to the Holy abode in Jerusalem — ignoring myths and warnings — and crossing the foreboded, desert heartlands, to arrive at the House of One God in Abrahamic Arabia. What finally elevated my perspective was a luminous Book that perfectly alchemized my thoughts, beliefs, with human nature. It taught me Oneness, and my place and purpose within the universe.”

Press materials noted that Yusuf/Cat Stevens has a book tour in the works. Sign up for the presale.