Overflowing emotions and impressions that were deeply rooted, in the author's subconscious from a very young age, are the inspirations of Reaching for the Sky.
Childhood memories and experiences erupt throughout the book. The absolute authenticity of this memoir is shattering. An incredible story is told and the author's ageless affirmation of the chilling and vicious senselessness of war, is very persuasively narrated.
The life of a wide-eyed, irrepressibly optimistic little girl was shaped by a serene, imposing place, her picturesque retreat, until it was disturbed by those terrible noises…those awful attacks!…Child-play and fantasies gave way to fear and anguish. Now the following thoughts were going through her mind while the German bombs were falling nearby her hideaway.
How dare they, disturb my peaceful space? Who are these people who want to conquer the world? Why aren't they satisfied with their own terra firma? Their own hideaways and retreats. Their own Camelot? Why would they bother my magical surroundings and the surroundings of all the other little boys and girls of other lands? Don't they have dreams, other than to destroy people's dreams? Weren't they ever children themselves, or better yet, don't they have children of their own? Don't they know that, above all, children need to feel safe and secure, warm and loved?…….

Psyhogeos' conclusion of her recollections was going to be optimistic and cheerful, along with the fervent wish that never again children, will live through the horrors of war and its dreadful consequences….It wasn't meant to be though… The dreadful morning of September 11, 2001, changed it all. The devastation of the horrific events in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania will haunt us forever.
Matina Psyhogeos, is a well-known educator/author, has taught for a number of years in many Greater Boston schools and has developed her own program (The Psyhogeos Program) for the teaching of a foreign language. She has written ten other books. She has three grown sons, and is temporarily residing in Greece. .
REACHING FOR THE SKY: Childhood Recollections of War and Peace, is a many-faceted wonder (according to one independent reviewer). Published in October, 2003, by iUniverce , it is now available at : www.iUniverse.com Amazon.com , Barnes & Noble.com , Borders.com and Booksamillion.com . It may also be requested by your favorite bookstore, besides author and title, by ISBN. [ISBN 0-595-65922-5 (hardcover) $ 23.95 and 0-595-28877-4 (pbk) $13.95]

INDEPENDENT EDITORIAL REVIEW
OF NON_FICTION MANUSCRIPT

Comments:

Psyhogeos's title, Reaching for the Sky, is a many-faceted wonder. It's an immediate hook for prospective readers. We've all reached for the sky-either physically or imaginatively. As a child, taking afternoon naps, I lay on a quilt in my shady backyard and reached for the sky, straining to touch the clouds. At night, during the summer, the whole family would lie on quilts waiting for the house to cool off, and we'd all reach for the stars. This gesture of "reaching for the sky" is synonymous with reaching toward heaven for help, for hope, and for happiness.

In an early chapter of her memoir, the author tells us how she and her sister reached for the sky-first, with brooms, then with ladders, and finally, climbing high up in trees. These were the happy times when everything seemed possible, when childhood dreams promised boundless fulfillment. What she describes is absolutely necessary as a prelude to what she later focuses on: the violence of WWII and the dashing of all those childhood dreams. Had she described only the horrors of the war, we wouldn't have anything to compare them with. Because she gives us compelling portraits of life before the war, we are able to measure the horrendous wartime traumas precisely because we know what has been lost and destroyed-forever. The absolute authenticity of this memoir is shattering.

Each chapter is a revelation and should appeal to a wide audience. It's an incredible story of the super-human strength that the author gained after growing up in wartime and daring and courage it took for her and her family to immigrate to a new country, learn the language, make choices about the customs of the new country, and continue to be, at heart, still Greek.
As for the memoirs' content, readers will believe every word of the author's timeless testimony to the harrowing, cruel mindlessness of war. We hear the bursting and buzzing of the Nazi bombs; we recoil as we, like the author in her youth, realize that nothing can save her. We hear her young mother's answer to the author's continued pleas of Why? Devastated herself, the young mother attempts to explain that war is ignited by men with too much ambition, greed, and hunger for power. Always, she reminds the author and the author's sister, one day, "these terrible people will have to answer for their crimes."

The structure of this memoir is as carefully composed as a symphony. A peaceful, playful movement is juxtaposed against an explosive, emotional movement, suggesting starbursts of bombing raids and heightened fear. Then the mood and color change dramatically as the author draws back and begins a quiet depiction of her mother and her rich psychological and imaginative heritage that she bequeathed to the author. This movement segues into yet another change of color and mood as the author captures her father's discipline and idealism. Both of the author's parents infused her with resilience and strength to survive the Nazi brutalities.

Afterward, the narrative returns to a linear progression as the family begins its slow odyssey toward the U.S., where the Statue of Liberty holds her torch of freedom upwards, toward the sky.

The focus of the finale deals with the shattering of the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center in September 2001, a holocaust of horror for all who witnessed it first-hand, as well as an unbelievable atrocity for those who watched the destruction on TV. The memoir has come full circle-from the bombs exploding above Greece to the explosions that brought down the World Trade Center. And, in addition, the U.S., like the author, in her childhood, believed that dreams were invincible-and both lost their innocence because of war's horrible and bloody immediacy.

What an incredible opportunity for the characters in the book to have had their story told in such an eloquent manner. The author deserves their thanks and deep appreciation.

What makes this book so brilliant and such fine reading are the passages that she narrates through the pure eyes of childhood. After the 9/11 tragedies, newspapers throughout the U.S. referred to the loss of America's innocence. The author knew well, first-hand, about the loss of innocence because of wartime violence. Bravely, she returns to years old ago and rips off the innocence face of childhood and shares with us her disillusionment and her healing in a new country. Evocative and compelling, this book is inspiring and should be read by people everywhere who take freedom for granted.

(Staff of the Editorial Group)

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Dear Ms. Psyhogeos:

I thoroughly enjoyed your book about your childhood. What an amazing story. How wonderful you must feel to have been able to document the experiences you and your family had, and the experiences of so many others whose story might never have been told without you.

You have written a wonderful book, and you are a very good writer. This story is a real page-turner. It kept my interest, and kept me wanting to read more.

SUSAN P. (a freelance editorial reviewer)