Book excerpt: Stories My Grandmother Told Me by Anastasia Hamelis by no means an ordinary story.Her fascinatingly diverse life began in Greece and included long periodsspent in her grandmotherOCOs care while her parents searched for work.Ultimately, the young family moved to the United States, but AnastasiaOCOsheart was always with her beloved grandmother. Anastasia recalls that: Hearing my grandmother describe how myparents met and how their married life was full of turbulent times gaveme a better understanding of why they made some of their decisions.Her grandmotherOCOs patience in describing lifeOCOs events . . . was betterthan any book, better than any movie. It was real and all about ourfamily. AnastasiaOCOs own telling of those lifeOCOs events is a captivatingtale, as well as a beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman."