Product Description

For us, it was a way out of a depressing situation, when my husband, Tony was made redundant from an IT managerial position shortly befor his 50th birthday. When you have reached rock bottom, there is nowhere else to go, but up.
I heard that a little boy, who was autistic, spoke for the first time, after seeing a video that I sent his parents.
So the idea was born... we put it into practice.
We sold Tony's Mercedes car bought an old VW camper, packed it with video equipment and set off from our home in Cheshire, England for the island of Lefkas.
We had flown there in 4 hours the year before, this time it took 4 days. More difficult because Tony only has use of his left arm.
There we made videos of the island, adding personal moments for people, using a generator. The first night we showed the video from a portable TV, placed above the sink, at the open door of the camper. We caused such a sensation! Something new and exciting had happened in the sleepy little village of Agios Nikitas. The childen were exstatic, drawing the attention of tourists and locals.
Our idea had worked and was proving very profitable.
We were not to know what lay ahead...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22363 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

From the Publisher
This inspiring and true adventure story is about the author and her husband's journey to find beauty and meaning on the little known island of Lefkas.
Who hasn't dreamt of 'opting out' on a Greek island? Expect a new and refreshing voice, written with humour from Diane Griffith. The Greek people are portrayed with all the quirkiness that make them so endearing.
The realistic descriptions of the people and places in the evocatively Greek environment take you right there with them, sharing in this heart-warming venture.
The text moves along at a comfortable pace, and the prose is vivid and full of memorable images that contrast the island's beauty with their travelling hardships, in their 18 year-old VW camper van..
Follow them on their journey and find out if they found the secret of true happiness, or were they merely chasing dreams?

From the Author
I wrote this book when all the memories were vivid in my mind, because I wanted to share our amazing adventure and many varied experiences with other dreamers who might have liked to do somehing like this. When you have lost all things material, you can gai so much more, but you have to be determined and you have to have a dream!

About the Author
I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, spent my childhood in Wales, being of a Welsh mother. But I inherited my late father's Liverpudlian humour and love of writing. I attended The Queen Mary High School in Liverpool form the age of 13. I have been married four times, so that proves that if at first I don't succeed... I now live in Cyprus with my husband, Tony and my elderly mother.

I was born in Aberdeen, spent my childhood in Wales, being of a Welsh mother I grew up speaking Welsh and English. This helped me to learn the Greek Language. I inherited my positive attitude to life and sense of humour from my Liverpudlian father. I have been married four times, so if at first I don't succeed...I have one son, Jamie Lambert, who owns a bar and is a singer/guitarist.
I now live in Paphos, Cyprus with my husband and my elderly mother.
I have written a book for young children: Granny's Magic Garden and two romantic fiction novels: A Moment to Remember and It Mattered Yesterday.

Diane Griffith was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Spent her childhood in Wales, being of a Welsh mother she grew up speaking Welsh and English. This helped her to learn the Greek language. She inherited her late father's Liverpudlian humour and positive attitude. She has been married four times, and believes that, if at first you don't succeed....
She has one son, Jamie Lambert from her first marriage, who spent 14 years in the police force. Now he owns a bar and is a singer/guitarist.

I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. I spent my childhood in Wales, being of a Welsh mother and English father I grew up speaking Welsh and English. This, later in life, helped me to learn the Greek language.
I attended The Queen Mary High School in Liverpool, where I was encouraged to write.
I inherited my late father's Liverpudlian humour and positive attitude to life. I have been married four times. So if at first I don't succeed...
I have one son, Jamie Lambert from my first marriage who served 14 years in the Police Force and now owns a bar and is a singer/guitarist.
My favourite job was being a consultant for Slimming World and writing articles about my successful slimming club for the local papers in Cheshire, where I lived then.
I now live in Paphos,Cyprus with my wonderful husband and my elderly mother. I have written a book for young cildren called, "Granny's Magic Garden," and a romantic fiction novel, "A Moment to Remember." I have also written another romantic fiction entitled, "It Mattered Yesterday."
Both my novels are based on real happenings in my life, so they have been written from my heart.

I want to thank everyone who reads my books.

More About the Author
Diane Griffith was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, spent her childhood in Wales and later attended The Queen Mary High School in Liverpool. She grew up speaking English and Welsh, being of a Welsh Mother and inherited her Liverpudlian father's humour and positive attitude. She has been married four times, so if at first she does not succeed... She now lives in Cyprus with her husband, Tony and elderly mother. She has one son form her first marriage, Jamie Lambert, who served 14 years as a police officer in The Met. and in the Cheshire Constabulary. Now he is a singer/guitarist, and owns a bar.
Diane has also written a book for young children: Granny's Magic Garden, and two romantic fiction novels: A Moment to Remember, and It Mattered Yesterday.- Both novels will be released soon.

> Visit Amazon's Diane Griffith Page

Customer Reviews

A delightful true adventure story
I thought that this book was a joy to read. It's a true story about how the author saved her husband from deep depression when faced with redundancy at a difficult age. The courageous duo sold or left their precious belongings behind them and embarked upon a remarkable journey that most of us wouldn't be brave enough to undertake. Almost two decades on so many people are facing financial crisis through circumstances beyond their control.It made me laugh out loud in many places, which can only be a good thing. Laughter is the best tonic, so they say, and this book gives plenty of real life humor as well as allowing the reader to enjoy the well described scenery and the quaint and quirky Greek characters. Coming from Greek origin myself I was especially interested in the portrayal of Greek people, the author descibes us so well! I found the book as lovable and amusing as watching `My Big Fat Greek Wedding', `Shirley Valentine' and `Zorba the Greek'. It's an absolutely delightful story and would make a fantastic movie. A great read.

This great read makes me want to visit Greece especially Lefkas.
Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Chasing Dreams in Lefkas by Diane Griffith. I felt that I was sharing in all the heart-warming adventures with the author and her husband. I thought that it had been written with humour and genuine affection for all the Greek people that they came into contact with. It was obvious that they fell in love with the island and it's inhabitants, especially the children. Although at times they must have got them down with their habitual shouting and repetitions. But they still loved them, as we all still love our kids, even when they drive us mad.
I recommend this book to anyone who has a light hearted attitude to life, and to anyone who feels that they need a good laugh. I was laughing so much with this remarkable couple who turned a bad situation into a wonderful and memorable adventure. I take my hat off to them and thank them for giving me so much pleasure with this great book.

Chasing Dreams in Lefkas by Diane Griffith
I really found this book inspiring! I know people who have had to start over in difficult times and this gives a new perceptive and will encourage people to take on a challenge and do something that they would never have thought of doing. Sometimes it takes courage to turn a negative situation around and make it into an experience of a lifetime. Challenges like this and the experiences gained are what life is all about. By having such a positive attitude, this couple enhanced their lives. It was a very enjoyable, read by myself and my wife, who could not put the book down. We both felt that we were there with them experiencing the positive and negative events, the happy and sad moments and the warmth the Greek people are renowned for. What a GREAT film this would make!