Dandelions for Dinner: New Book Chronicles Story of Family’s Survival of World War II and Greek Civil War

What happens to a family already on the brink of disaster when the world around it crumbles? Who survives when the strong and powerful are killed? Why does America matter?“Dandelions for Dinner: Greece at War and a Family’s Dreams of America” set in the majestic Ionian coastal town of Gargaliani, Greece (and also in Chicago), captures a family’s saga spanning the last quarter of the 19th century through the Greek Civil War of the 1940s. This memoir is an uplifting story of survival told through the eyes of author Sam P. Stamatis and his son, Peter S. Stamatis.Recent winner of the prestigious Rising Star Award, “Dandelions for Dinner” chronicles a family’s struggle to overcome famine and suffering during two wars. The story transcends nationality and demonstrates how common people can survive life’s gravest challenges by living one day at a time, by taking their hits, and by going with the flow. It demonstrates that faith and the American Dream are neither hackneyed nor trite but provide hope to anonymous people in dark cracks and corners across the globe. And it reveals that with hope, people can prevail.


Nick Gage, best-selling author of “Eleni”, has called “Dandelions for Dinner” a “must reading for anyone interested in the struggles and sacrifices of the Greek people to save their nation from totalitarianism and to secure for their children the freedom and democracy their ancestors bequeathed to the world.”
Sam Stamatis, 78, was born in Gargaliani in 1933, and after enduring a life of hardship from a very young age, arrived in Chicago at the age of 13. A U.S. Army veteran, Stamatis graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
Co-author Peter Stamatis, 43, is the youngest of Sam’s three children. He also graduated from the University of Illinois, and since 1993 has worked as an attorney in Chicago. Currently, he runs his own Loop law firm and writes a “Law and Politics” column for the “Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.”
For more information, visit: www.dandelionsfordinner.com.