When Lana's gorgeous boyfriend Dion is offered his dream job in Athens, it seems like the perfect opportunity to share an unforgettable experience abroad. But this is one travel adventure that doesn't go quite to plan. For an energetic party girl, life in the sun-drenched cradle of civilization turns out to be anything but idyllic. Lana struggles to learn Greek words past 'hello' and 'pencil', to articulate beyond giggling and pointing, and to find a hairdresser who doesn't leave her with a hairdo the size of a grand piano. Meanwhile, Dion is loving every minute of his new life working long hours and seemingly moving further and further from her reach just when she needs him the most. At once hilariously funny and deeply moving, this is a cross-cultural love story with the whole catastrophe - a big fat Greek wedding, a son-worshipping mother-in-law, a fast-crumbling psyche, the best gay pal a girl could ever hope for, and an unexpected ending. To Hellas & Back is a heart-warming tale of one woman's journey through love, loneliness and culture shock set to the soundtrack of screaming bouzoukia and a million blasting car horns.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Any independent woman who has given up a much-loved job, friends and family to follow someone else s dream will understand Penrose s fragility. How she copes with the culture, language and her utter dependence on her Australian-born boyfriend in his parents homeland is a story for today. --Sydney Morning Herald (Spectrum)
This is an honest portrayal of the many dimensions of a cross-cultural relationship, demonstrating the many uncomfortable encounters often felt when families of two different cultures come together. It is hilarious to read how Lana shrinks like a violet when Dion s (extended) family all get together. A heart warming tale of a women s journey through love, loneliness and a big fat Greek wedding to boot. It s going to be a long year for Lana. --She Said
This story is as much mine as it is Lana s. I find myself struggling to push back the tears, struggling to keep the floodgates firmly shut as my emotions hoist me up and carry me back through time, setting me down almost twenty years ago when I first arrived in Australia, a stranger in a strange land. Suddenly her anguish is my anguish as the feelings of isolation and desolation I have carefully tucked away are rudely awakened from their slumber and pushed to the surface. I can sympathise with her struggle to tightrope between the sense of alienation attached to life in a foreign country and the need to assimilate and be accepted on equal terms. I have experienced firsthand the debilitating nausea of being pushed to your limits as the battle between two countries with precious little in common rages on inside you. --Epsilon Magazine
This is an honest portrayal of the many dimensions of a cross-cultural relationship, demonstrating the many uncomfortable encounters often felt when families of two different cultures come together. It is hilarious to read how Lana shrinks like a violet when Dion s (extended) family all get together. A heart warming tale of a women s journey through love, loneliness and a big fat Greek wedding to boot. It s going to be a long year for Lana. --She Said
This story is as much mine as it is Lana s. I find myself struggling to push back the tears, struggling to keep the floodgates firmly shut as my emotions hoist me up and carry me back through time, setting me down almost twenty years ago when I first arrived in Australia, a stranger in a strange land. Suddenly her anguish is my anguish as the feelings of isolation and desolation I have carefully tucked away are rudely awakened from their slumber and pushed to the surface. I can sympathise with her struggle to tightrope between the sense of alienation attached to life in a foreign country and the need to assimilate and be accepted on equal terms. I have experienced firsthand the debilitating nausea of being pushed to your limits as the battle between two countries with precious little in common rages on inside you. --Epsilon Magazine
About the Author
Lana Penrose was born, bred and raised within the cultural diversity of the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Her various incarnations have included record company promotions manager, music journalist, music television producer and personal assistant to pop sensation Darren Hayes (formerly of Savage Garden). Her writing career began in 1994 when she started as a fledgling freelancer for music publications InPress and Beat Magazine in Melbourne. In 1995 she moved to London and began writing for London s TNT Magazine as its entertainment reporter and Scotland s BigWig music rag while simultaneously working for Arista Records and later Sony Music U.K. Upon returning to Australia, a public relations position was taken with Sony Music before accepting a position with MTV. In this role, Lana began scriptwriting and producing such shows as Most Wanted (TRL style), The Australian Top 20, Collections and Greatest Hits. After two years she was promoted to Senior Producer, scriptwriting and producing MTV News, as well as interviewing the illustrious and not so illustrious of the rock & pop world. Lana moved to Greece in 2000 after her partner accepted a posting in Athens in order to program and operate a humble Greek radio station. She utilised this time to study psychology and counseling via correspondence. However, her stimulation levels plummeted and in between masterful displays of procrastination via choreographed dance routines in front of her bathroom mirror, she diligently kept a journal of thoughts, feelings and experiences as they unfolded and her mind warped. By 2003, an entire book had begun to formulate and was worked on in earnest. It documented the strange emotions and hilarious situations that her new life presented. That book went on to become the successful To Hellas & Back My Modern Day Greek Tragedy released through Penguin/Viking October 2007 (reprint edition slated for early 2009). In 2004, she produced and hosted two youth oriented pieces about Athens for Channel [v] Australia, interviewing young Athenians on beaches and nightclubs as an overview of the city in the lead up to the Olympic Games. Lana left Greece in 2004 to reside in London for two years working as personal assistant to and management representative of Darren Hayes. She began freelancing for Classic Rock Magazine and recommenced writing for TNT while adding to the skeletons of two future book concepts. Well known amongst the Darren Hayes fan community, regular contributions were made to darrenhayes.com in the popular Lana s Latest section that received in excess of 200,000 hits. She appeared on stage as a part of the Big Night In with Darren Hayes concert tour throughout the UK, Ireland, Sydney (Opera House) and Thailand and is featured in the Big Night In DVD released through Village Roadshow Australia. The sequel to To Hellas & Back - which unveils the perilous journey of the author as she began a brand new life post-Greece now nears completion and will be released in 2009. Since the release of To Hellas & Back, Lana has appeared on Australian national breakfast television (The Morning Show) and she and her book have featured in Cleo, Famous, Woman s Day, That s Life, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Melbourne Herald Sun, national ABC radio, Mix FM and Triple M breakfast to name only a few. Lana is currently based in Sydney.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I laughed, I cried!,
By
This review is from: To Hellas & Back - My Modern Day Greek Tragedy (Paperback)
A friend of mine in Australia recommended this book to me. I was very skeptical because I am not really the target audience for women's memoirs... but my friend said "trust me, you'll love it." She was totally right.
To put it simply, I love the way this woman writes. Every paragraph is an enjoyable adventure. She can be both hysterically funny, witty and charming while at the same time successfully making you feel the agony of her strange saga. I was more than willing to travel thru the 200+ pages of her story because she could make me laugh and cry at the same time. Similarily, she balances her themes perfectly - the hysterical observations of an ex-pat trying to make some sense out of an unfamiliar foreign culture and the tragic pit one falls in as their marriage falls apart. The two intertwine and balance each other perfectly, keeping me engaged from start to finish. A great read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My sad and witty "Big Fat Greek Wedding"...set in Greece,
By
This review is from: To Hellas & Back - My Modern Day Greek Tragedy (Paperback)
This book fell into my hands by chance. I had no idea at the time that I would end up reading it 3 times in 3 weeks (I have never read a book more than once).
It's a true story about love, sacrifice, and culture shock, and a lot more. It shows how much a woman's love for a man can change her life, damage her self esteem and nearly send her to a shrink. But don't think that this book is a sad story from start to finish. It will make you laugh and it will make you grab a tissue to wipe away the tears shortly after. Some people are prepared to give up their job, family, their LIFE, to be with the person they love. But "To Hellas and Back" goes to show that most of the time these sacrifices cause nothing but heartache. Lana Penrose does not set out to write this book to "attack" or "criticise" Greece or the Greek people for that matter. Her personal experience was set in Greece so that is why she writes about Greece. Any person can experience culture shock in any country. There is a huge difference between being a tourist and being "Lana". A tourist stays for a limited time, sees the "hotspots" and returns to their country without any strings attached and a damaged psyche. Someone like Lana has to find the strength to leave her husband on the other side of the world, try to pick up the pieces and go back home. It shows that living in a huge house, manicures, and shopping do not add up to happiness, love, and security. A must read for anyone interested in human relationships and how they can make us or break us. A sequel is in the making and I look forward to reading it since Lana Penrose's talent can easily be compared to that of David Sedaris and Elizabeth Gilbert. GO GIRL!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
STEP INSIDE A MIND,
This review is from: To Hellas & Back - My Modern Day Greek Tragedy (Paperback)
In a world where most people wipe snot on their sleeves Lana Penrose proudly wears her heart on her sleeve.
For Lana to be a long way from home is frightening to be a long way from anywhere is the mother of all terrors. "To Hellas And Back" is a bare knuckle read on romance,pain,loneliness,magic and lose while all along the book is laced with a remarkable dose of intelligent self depricating humor. The most admirable quality of "Hellas And Back" is Lana invites the reader to take a candid look inside her mind which is toxically cloaked in depression. This is a brave piece of work I highly recommend you have a read.
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