My Greek Books
Welcome back to My Greek Books! This summer, I’ve been reading a lot – some books that aren’t Greek related, and also some advanced copies of amazing books what will be out in the coming months. I’ll share those with you as soon as I can. But today, travel with me to Crete in the 1990s, and Greece post-WWII, for two wonderful novels. Keep going to find out what I’ve been reading.
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Mrs. Papadakis: A Novel of Crete and Choices by Florence Wetzel
Independently published (May 30, 2026)
About the author
Brooklyn, NY native Florence Wetzel writes across multiple genres. Her books are independently published. Check out my review from September 2025 of her novel, Aspasia, also set in Crete. She’s published a memoir, Sara My Sara: A Memoir of Friendship and Loss (2024); and several novels, including the thriller The Woman Who Went Overboard (2020), the The Grand Man: A Swedish Mystery(2019), and Dashiki: A Cozy Mystery (2011). She has also written horror short stories, a book of poems and memoir essays, and co-authored jazz clarinetist Perry Robinson’s autobiography.
About the book
Set in the 1990s on the island of Crete, meet Carolyn Papadakis. Five years prior, she decided to leave the hustle and bustle of her life in the US behind. She married a Greek man and moved with him to his remote fishing village. Now known as Karolina, she had settled into village life: milking goats and adopting local traditions. But something gnawed at her. She no longer recognized herself and though she loved her husband, she began to wonder if she had made the right choice.
Then her friend unexpectantly shows up in the village—the one to whom she’d handed over her business coordinating poetry showcases. Mimma tells of her glories, expanding the showcase, and her great successes. Karolina can’t help but feel a bit jealous. It makes her think about all she left behind. Conflicted, Karolina longs for more but is wracked by guilt. She needs some excitement in her life, and when she meets two hippies passing through the village, she makes poor choices, leaving her husband reeling. With her marriage hanging by a thread, she must decide where she belongs: her new life in the village with her husband or back in the US with the old life she left behind.
My Greek Books review
Florence Wetzel skillfully captured the slow and predictable pace of village life. She beautifully characterized the identity crisis many of us have after big changes in our lives, like marriage and even kids, which alter our lives so much it can seem like we bear little resemblance to the people we were before. Sometimes we feel stuck in our routines and then reminisce about the life we left behind. But the grass isn’t always greener. For an American ex-pat like Carolyn, the changes are huge, and we can feel her loneliness, her guilt, being torn between her past and current lives. Mrs. Papadakis will make you laugh and cry, and make you think about your own choices in life. I couldn’t put it down. Don’t miss it!
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Sousanna: Lost Daughter by Sousanna Stratmann
Tranquility Press (October 19, 2018)
About the author
Sousanna Stratmann was born in Pirgos, Greece, in 1953. She was illegally adopted by an American family at the age of five, “under deceptive coercion imposed upon her natural family”.
She grew up in Oklahoma and later moved to Texas, where she met her husband. She attended Texas A&M University. Sousanna enjoyed a 48-year career as a dance director, studio owner, and fitness instructor. Now retired, she’s written this autobiographical novel based on her true story.
About the book
Back in post-WWII Greece, Sousanna’s family is poor and she is always hungry, but the house is filled with love, and she is a happy 5-year-old. Then one day a stranger arrives. Peter Bakas, an American lawyer who finds Greek orphans to place with black-market adoptive parents in the United States, doesn’t confine himself to orphans. Sometimes he deceives, often paying desperate parents to give up their children, and other times stealing them under false pretenses. Bakas seeks a girl who looks like Sousanna. He tells her father that he must let her go live in America to have a “better life” and that only a cruel father would keep her there and make her suffer in poverty. Bakas convinces Sousanna’s father to let her go, with the promise that the situation is temporary – she’ll come back soon. But none of it’s true.
Sousanna stays in a safe house with other children, before they are transported to America. She then finds herself in Oklahoma, adopted by an American couple, who don’t understand her and berate her for speaking Greek, and then English with an accent. Her family, her culture, her language—and even her name – are taken from her. All she can think about is the day her family will find her. Sousanna learns to thrive in this new world, but will she ever be reunited with her family? You’ll have to read it to find out.
My Greek Books review
Based on her true story, Sousanna Stratmann shares her heartbreaking story of being ripped away from her family and sent to a foreign land. She’s one of the thousands of children who were illegally adopted from Greece. Told from different points of view, we see the effects of the situation not only affect her, but also her family. Sousanna: The Lost Daughter is a shocking story, told with love and unending hope of returning home. Add it to your list.
My Greek Books—August 2026
Well, that’s it for this month. Add these three books to your list. Let’s meet her next month, where I’ll share more of My Greek Books. Til then, Happy Reading!
