A Guide to Getting Lost<\/a>\u201d is a contemporary romance novel set at a fictional university in Boston, following protagonists Willa and Julian as their relationship blossoms from strangers to lovers. Julian is an architecture major, tour guide and standoffish senior, while Willa is a curious English major, coffee lover and transfer student.\u00a0<\/p>\nWitkowski said readers who know her may notice similarities between her and the novel\u2019s protagonist. She said she intentionally wove elements of her own experiences into Willa\u2019s character and key moments in the story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said Willa shares several of her own interests, including studying English and having a love for Boston and coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWriting is a way that I can have a physical resemblance of something that means a lot to me,\u201d she said. \u201cGrowing up, I had a journal, and even though it wasn\u2019t a story, it was kind of like my gem. It\u2019s like a little prized possession you can hold onto.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Witkowski\u2019s path to becoming an author wasn\u2019t linear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said she was homeschooled during eighth and ninth grade due to medical issues, which gave her extensive exposure to the health care system and inspired her to pursue pediatrics. She entered Lehigh as a behavioral neuroscience major, focusing on pediatric neurology, with several medical internships already completed.<\/p>\n
After arriving at Lehigh, Witkowski began taking humanities courses and said she felt torn between what she thought she should pursue and what she genuinely enjoyed. She ultimately switched to an English major and is now considering graduate school or law school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soon after changing majors, Witkowski said she immersed herself in the study of Jane Austen, and said she finds old literature \u201csentimental\u201d and a contrast to her contemporary writing style.\u00a0<\/p>\n
English professor Michael Kramp said he brought Witkowski and a small group of students to a Jane Austen Society of North America event in New York City last year. At the event, attendees heard scholars speak, viewed a prominent book exhibit and networked with internationally renowned academics. There, Witkowski met scholar Devoney Looser, a connection that later led to one of her internships this semester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Witkowski said she\u2019s currently balancing two Austen-related internships: one as a publicist for Looser\u2019s upcoming book, \u201cWild for Austen,\u201d and another researching and editing Jane Austen podcasts with Kramp in his Jane Austen Research Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kramp said he\u2019s worked with Witkowski since her first year and has seen her academic interests evolve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c(Witkowski) has grown in confidence both as a writer and as a thinker,\u201d he said.Witkowski\u2019s friend, Rachael Burcker, \u201828, said Witkowski began writing the novel in summer 2025 and completed it in under a year. <\/p>\n
She said the book has already gained traction on \u201cBookTok,\u201d earning strong reviews and a 4.0 rating on Goodreads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that (A Guide to Getting Lost) is already published, and (Witkowski is) in the process of trying to get this sold at Barnes and Noble, and she\u2019s already sold dozens of copies on Amazon, is just so beyond impressive,\u201d Burcker said.<\/p>\n
While her academic goals have shifted, Witkowski said her passion for advocacy has remained constant. From aspiring doctor to writer, she said she hopes her journey encourages other students to explore their interests without fear of changing direction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re driven and motivated enough, you can get any of these experiences,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Wirkowski said she also hopes to serve as an example for students who are uncertain about their futures and to show that opportunities exist across disciplines when paired with passion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people actually don\u2019t feel like they have the voice to become a writer, but I feel like it\u2019s true that anyone can be a writer as long as you have a heart and a mind to it,\u201d Witkowski said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through Willa and Julian\u2019s story, she said she aims to inspire others to use their voice, regardless of academic major, career aspirations or expectations from others.<\/p>\n
Witkowski will host her first book signing on May 5 at West Lawn Public Library. She said she plans to hold additional book signings at local bookstores and libraries in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ashley Witkowski, \u201828, entered Lehigh with the dream of becoming a pediatrician. Now, she\u2019s an English major, Jane…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[48710,119,121,120,9728,73306],"class_list":{"0":"post-165689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-3-min-read","9":"tag-allentown","10":"tag-allentown-headlines","11":"tag-allentown-news","12":"tag-profile","13":"tag-student-activities"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}