Reviews
Read what people are already saying about Paula's latest release:
Eternal Stones and Other Memories of Greece......
“One will enjoy reading these tales of Paula's time with her family in Greece. Her excellent work takes one to Greece in not only a funny way, but also in way where one can learn by Greece's rich history. At the same time, Paula, though not her intention, inspires Greek-American parents to do more in teaching their children about the rich culture, faith and heritage of Greece.”
Rev. Fr. Sotirios P. Malamis, Ascension of our Lord Greek Orthodox Church
“Whether it’s a local bride’s Saturday morning take-over of the Sparta ArtStyle Salon, or elderly Mrs. Kavios’s savant knowledge of Vassara’s village inhabitants, Paula Burzawa’s stories of summer returns to the family’s Greek roots fully amuse and delight. Modern conveniences taunt these immigrant travelers into believing themselves “better off” in Chicago and New York, yet Burzawa’s uncanny ability to capture the essences of these charming people and events leaves her readers considerably less certain of it themselves.”
Ann Frank Wake PhD., Professor & English Department Chair, Elmhurst College
“Paula Burzawa’s love for Greece is palpable in this collection of essays. Let her be your travel guide as she intermixes family lore with an ageless land. (Oh! The essay “Athena’s Auction” is delightful!)”
John DeDakis , Author, “Fast Track,” “Bluff,” “Troubled Water,” and “Bullet in the Chamber”
Former Senior Copy Editor, CNN’s “The Situation -Room with Wolf Blitzer”
“Paula has done it again! Another collection of stories that not only inspire the brain, but touch the heart. Paula is a master-story teller with the singular ability to capture life’s many vicissitudes … in just a single paragraph. Enjoy!”
Peter Stamatis, co-author of Dandelions for Dinner, Greece at War and a Family’s Dreams of America.
Read what readers say about Tasso's Journey....
“Paula Burzawa does it again. She brings family history alive in this gripping saga of survival, faith, and enduring love. If you liked Seasons of Sun, you'll love Tasso's Journey.”
~John DeDakis
Former Editor, CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer"
Author: Fast Track, Bluff, and Troubled Water
www.johndedakis.com
“Paula Burzawa's heartbreaking, yet ultimately triumphant story of how her ancestors survived the Nazi invasion of Greece, makes Tasso's Journey our journey too. Her vivid characters and skillful handling of plot reveal how deep faith, superhuman strength of will, and unthinkable sacrifice for the sake of great love, saved one family--and perhaps even Greece herself--from extinction.”
Ann Frank Wake Ph D.
Professor and English Department Chair
Elmhurst College
“As war haunts these pages with loneliness and loss, Burzawa has crafted a heartwarming story of the abiding love of one man, torn between his love for family and obligation to country, and his devoted wife, as the Nazis invade Greece.”
Kimberli A. Bindschatel
Author of: The Path to the Sun
“Beautiful. Inviting. Inspiring. With deep emotion and drama, Tasso’s Journey leaves the reader in awe of the author’s dexterity with words and complexity of plot. I recommend this novel to all.”
Reverend Father Demetrios N. Triantafeles, Author of:
Have Mercy on Me of God
Returning to the Triune God
St. Nectacrios, The Wounded Hierarch
Read what people are saying about Seasons of Sun...
"Paula Burzawa poignantly captures the emotional response of a young girl visiting her family's village in Greece. As she describes the girl coming to an acceptance of the death of a beloved aunt, she brings the eternal Greek landscape and its indomitable people vividly to life, as well."
~ Harry Mark Petrakis, Author
"Paula Burzawa has penned a charming and engaging memoir of a Greek-American teenager who comes of age during successive summers in Greece. There's romance, sadness, emotional turmoil, faith and drama set in a timelessly beautiful paradise. Prepare to be enchanted."
~ John DeDakis
CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer"
Author, "Fast Track"
"Paula is a talented writer whose love for the Mother of God makes her work deep and important....the only real flaw I find in this book is that it ended!"
~ Writer's Digest 19th Annual Award Judge
"I ... want you to know I couldn't put your book down - I finished it last week! Truly a relatable tale of there versus there, love and loss, freedom and tight bonds; it was a delight to read, and I felt like I was reliving many similar memories of my own from my travels to Greece (Kos) between the ages of 5-19. I really believe the main character was named "Insert Yourself Here." :)
The gray Audi (yeah, it's still there with my uncle and it's got to be 30 years old by now lol), the Toast sandwiches (oh, how I wish I could get one here - I've tried to make them here, but it's just not the same), the dark yet impenetrably safe streets (which we wandered 'til 3 AM without fear, and our parents knew we were going to be ok - we used to play hide 'n' seek - "Kryfto" all night), the HORRIFYING creatures that resided in my Aunt's house (a little Gecko lizard made himself comfortable on the wall next to my bed every night LOL...Yikes!!), the romantic strolls with young love along the starlit beaches (which could never happen here lol), and the incomparable star gazing on the roof of my Uncle's house...(and the innumerable amount of stars...I never KNEW there could even BE that MANY stars growing up in a big, polluted city like Chicago).
Greece is timeless, pure & untarnished; Greece is beautiful in its serenity and tranquility, and I always feel a little closer to God when I'm there. Thank you for taking me there again, on a virtual journey back to the homeland and the heart."
~ Nicki Kastellorizios-Lee, Tinley Park, Illinois
"A delightful story about the 'coming of age' of a young American teenager when she goes to the Greek village of her mother's birth for the summer. She awakens to "pangs" of her fist love, assimilates to an environment foreign to her and grows to, ultimately, everything that is part of her heritage."
~ Georgia S. Mitchell
National Hellenic Museum
Board of Directors
"I just finished reading Seasons of Sun by Paula Renee Burzawa and wanted to thank you for writing a moving story about a young girl who went to Greece with a heavy heart, finding it difficult to adjust to the Greek Culture and language, yet was able to establish relationships with cousins and friends while growing, maturing and understanding life and values. In the end she is successful in establishing her own identity and purpose. This was a pleasant book to read."
~Rev. Fr. Peter G. Balkas
St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church
Palatine, IL
"I was impressed by the way Paula Burzawa describes the landscape and the wild beauty of the village and surrounding mountains...It was the characterization and sketching of her relatives and local people, though, that touched me the most... I am confident all who read "Seasons of Sun" will cherish the author's memories as well."
~ Matina Psyhogeos
Author, "Reaching For The Sky : Childhood Recollections of War and Peace:"
Article updated: 1/13/2011 09:53 AM
Arlington Hts. author credits library for first novel
By Deborah Donovan
A writers group at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library gets credit from Paula Burzawa for helping her write her first novel, "Seasons of Sun." Burzawa had planned to write a memoir about her travels in Greece, but the members of The Writing Place helped her see it would work better as a novel.
The coming of age story that includes surviving a wild fire in Greece has received considerable attention, including a supporting blurb from noted Chicago author Harry Mark Petrakis.
"I was very lucky to find The Writing Place at the library," said Burzawa. "Meeting with 30 other writers I got the idea I was on the wrong path. And I got the idea to make it a novel." She also used the library as a quiet place to write.
The website for Burzawa's book is Seasonsofsun.com.The library also has a writers group called The Poetry Place.
Read more: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110113/news/701149877/#ixzz1B3IUHVwW
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