Out of the Bronx: A Memoir

(Paperback)

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According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 1,153,295 people of Greek heritage and 7,663 people of Cypriot heritage live and work in the United States.
The US Immigrant Population hit a record 43.7 million in 2016.
Over the past ten years more than 20,000 American children were killed in their own homes by family members. The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canadas and eleven times that of Italy. (2015 Child Maltreatment Report from the Childrens Bureau)
The United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations, losing an average of almost five children every day to child abuse and neglect.

Reviews

2021 Firebird Book AwardsFirst Place Winner in Inspiration
2020 New York City Big Book Awards Winner in Inspiration
2020 Independent Press Awards Winner in Inspirational

Out of the Bronxis the brave story of a young woman who wants to stay connected with her Greek roots while she tries to escape them. The reader will enjoy the lively prose and energy of Irene Sardanis as she brings alive her childhood and her family, and youll cheer her on as she discovers the life she wants to live.
Linda Joy Myers, founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers, author of Dont Call Me Mother, Song of the Plainsand The Power of Memoir

Out of the Bronxis the story of a young woman's struggle to escape and heal from the generational struggle of Greek immigrant parents. As an adult psychologist, she comes to understand her mother's story and to celebrate her own Greek culture. At the close of a beautifully detailed description of a Greek feast, she writes, 'I have filled my empty.' Her story is an important aid to readers who want to better understand the complicated difficulties faced by immigrants.
Pat Schneider, founder, Amherst Writers & Artists, author of Writing Alone and With Othersand How the Light Gets In

Are you from the Bronx Have you visited Neither Regardless, youre in luck, because Irene Sardanis transports you to this infamous New-York borough in an entirely engaging, revealing, and personal way. The daughter of two Greek-immigrant parents, Sardanis proclaims, 'My mothers village was her extended family. At the (Greek) Festival, the Greeks are mine.' It is there that she 'fills her empty,' which is vast yet hidden until the publication of this deeply moving and painfully relatable memoir, Out of the Bronx.
Valerie Haynes Perry, author of Write the Book You WantBe Your Own Coach

Irene Sardanis writes with compulsion, ferocity, and immediacy of a wrongly imprisoned person, unexpectedly and surprisingly set freewhich, of course, she is: a prisoner of time, place, family, gender, culture, religion and self.
Mark Greenside, author of I Saw a Man Hit His Wifeand I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do)

Out of the Bronxis a spellbinding tale of how to survive the worst kind of childhood and thrive in later life. Author Irene Sardanis, the daughter of Greek immigrants, takes readers on her healing journey, one that began with a violent mother and often absent, alcoholic father. Richly compassionate, Ms. Sardanis eventually built a career as a therapist and found the love of her life. Along the way, she discovered a hard-won surprise, compassion for her mother and father. The memoir is a haunting reminder of the era when few persons thought of intervening when a young person was abused, and before anyone heard of child protective services. Whether one's parents arrived from another place recently or long ago, Out of the Bronx, offers considerable inspiration for all readers.
Kristine Mietzner, Contributor,Your Life is a Trip

Irene Sardanis's writing is as spunky as she is, and we cheer for her as she negotiates her way from being an abused child to a teenager who tries to outwit her mother to an adult who survived two abusive marriages, got her doctorate in psychology, worked as a therapist, and found love. Her insight, understanding, and humor are there in her memoir for the reader to experience. This book could be depressing. Instead, it's an inspiration.
Karen Lee Pliskin, PhD, anthropologist, author of Silent Boundaries

Irene Sardaniss coming of age story is filled with drama, resilience, and hope. She follows the arc from her hardscrabble childhood in a Bronx tenement to breaking away from her difficult family to finding her own voice and becoming a therapist and writer. Her memoir, told with grace, honesty and wit, will encourage and inspire others.
Elizabeth Fishel, author of Getting to 30

How we come through our childhood is a mystery. Even with dynamics laid out plainly as Irene Sardanis does in her memoir, her voice is so utterly clear you can see her world. She says, 'I knew I could never tell anyone.' Yet she bravely tells us her story. Read Out of the Bronxand you may be honored with a glimpse of the mystery.

Clive Matson, author of Hello, Paradise. Paradise, Goodbye.and Let the Crazy Child Write

The memoir, Out of the Bronxtells with Immediacy and grace, how Irene Sardanis not only survived her family of birth, she successfully navigated the choppy waters that followed to grow into a self-assured writer.

Audrey Ward, author of Hidden Biscuits

Out of the Bronx is a powerful, emotional recounting of Sardaniss journey, and the unvarnished truth of her experiencewhich is at once so familiar and yet so uniquely her ownis moving.
The National Herald

Author Bio

Irene Sardanis is a retired psychologist. She was born in New York to Greek immigrant parents. She has been published five times in Sun Literary magazine and in many anthologies, the most recent of which is The Magic of Memoir. Dr. Sardanis has attended writing conferences in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Mendocino, Pebble Beach, and Berkeley. Occasionally, she moonlights as a jazz vocalist. She resides in Oakland, California, with her wonderful husband, John.