As August rolls on with heat, humidity, and thunderstorms, keeping cool by the seashore, pool, or air conditioner with a new book is always a great option. Memoir is one of the most difficult genres to write and sometimes to read simply because the story is true and recounts the often harrowing events of the individual’s life, hopefully in the most authentic and candid way possible. The authentic voice of the author sharing their life story can be as compelling to read as a work of fiction and can sometimes teach us valuable lessons about the human experience.

The Queen of Linens: A Greek Tragedy by Angeliki Nakos, published by Palmetto Publishing, offers a detailed account of the author’s life, beginning with her family’s immigrant story and how her parents left Ioannina for Philadelphia with her then-nine-month old brother in search of a better life in the U.S.

In the book, Nakos, first-generation Greek-American, chases her dreams from Philadelphia, where she was raised, to Greece, her ancestral homeland. Nakos was born in New Jersey, grew up in Philadelphia, and spent her summers in Greece. Like many children of immigrants, she was raised with a combination of the two cultures and with strong values and faith, which gave her a strong passion for learning, a hunger for adventure and an interest in the pursuit of self-understanding. Nakos spent her childhood in a middle-class home and was taught by a loving family to lean on her faith. Life, however, took some unexpected turns as she grew older.

As Nakos shares her real-life journey in the memoir, readers are drawn into the story which, as noted in the description, “is a Greek tragedy in the classical sense, too— one where pride leads to falls and lessons are learned; one of rags to riches and riches to rags.”

Facing challenges to her ethics, Nakos confronts the failures and triumphs that come from both her own choices and the unpredictable world around her. A proud mother, she speaks of her children as her greatest accomplishment. Her tumultuous path is a testament to the power of women’s resilience in the face of life’s storms— including those that start on the inside and work their way out into our lives. Readers will find an unvarnished voice in this memoir, as Nakos shares her unique Greek-American experience in her book and reminds us “that happiness can be achieved through commitment to walking the good path,” as noted in the book’s description.

Nakos is a graduate of Temple University and currently resides in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

She noted on her website that she wrote the book for “closure” and “clarity,” adding that the process “was cathartic.”

When asked what she is working on next, Nakos said in the FAQs section of her website: “A fictional romance, a Greek cookbook, a drama series, a comedy, and creating a Luxury Line of Linens.”

The Queen of Linens: A Greek Tragedy by Angeliki Nakos is available online.