George Kyriakou with his memoir, If The Shoe Fits. Photo: Contributed.
George Kyriakou didn’t have the most usual start to life.
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He was born on a dirt floor in his home town Ethnico, Greece, a small rural village occupied by German soldiers at the time.
The German forces used his home as a medical and communications centre.
As an adult, he had a chance meeting.
He was in Greece and stumbled upon a family member’s grave.
“Finding my sister Agapi’s grave in the grounds of a church in a rural village inspired me to find out more about my family and the hardships they endured during two world wars and civil wars,” Mr Kyriakou said.
George Kyriakou with his sister's grave that he found during a trip to his home town. Photo: Contributed.
He went on a journey of self-discovery, and has compiled what he learnt into a book.
“Their hunger, and the sacrifices they made throughout the generations, are reflected in this memoir,” he said.
“This is more than a reflection of one family, it’s about survival, conflict, different times, different places and a different way of life.”
His memoir, If The Shoe Fits, follows his passion for family and knowledge; however, he also holds devotes time to creative endeavours.
He has written several short stories, one about his journey to finding his sister’s grave, titled Finding Agapi.
His sister died when he was 10 years old, the short story exploring initially how grief is experienced at that age.
“My mother’s way of dealing with the tragedy was to put it behind her, not pretending it didn’t happen, just not talking about it,” the short story said.
“It was brutally painful for her, devastating every fibre of her body.”
It then chronicles his chance meetings when he returned to his home town in 2016 and how help from those who lived there helped him reconnect with family.
His self-published memoir and short stories are a reminder of the human need for familial connection and the love that spans generations.
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