My Ailing Champion is a book for those on the right and those on the left. It notes the harsh environment of the Nazi occupation in Greece and the many obstacles the author faced to get an education in the post-WW II years. Family and community leaders opposed education. The author's mother prevented him from reading books. He overcame all obstacles with heroic persistence and some luck and completed his secondary education. To secure free labor, the author's father promised his support for higher education but twice deceived the son. The sisters' dowries were a significant impediment. Ultimately, the family beat up the author and tossed him into the streets hungry, penniless, and jobless, robbing him of his education dream forever. It was for America to throw a lifeline and enable the author to get a college education, even a Ph.D.
The author expresses his deep gratitude for a chance at the American Dream and bemoans the current state of America, his ailing champion. He casts a hopeful note stemming from America's noble character and long-term aspirations, concluding that, far from being perfect, America is nevertheless the best country the world has ever known.
Koubourlis defines education as the ability to apply critical thinking. He strives to do so with an honest examination of his life and our world and seeks objectivity in promising dialog of opposing viewpoints; he doesn't shy away from delving into some of the fundamental differences between Communism and Capitalism while suggesting a way to settle diverging viewpoints. Maturing in America, the author developed his critical thinking abilities and prefers evolution to revolution, and conversation to confrontation when attempting to find common ground.
Take a peek at the start of the book here:
"We need to destroy it all, to tear it down and not give a damn about improving. Nothing's worth improving. Keep destroying. Satisfy your needs and desires," the young lady at the head of the table was proclaiming. As I had nothing better to do, I tuned in to the conversation so near me. A family of about a dozen was wrapping up their dinner.
It was in 1994. I was in the South Pacific, dining alone at a small Cook Islands restaurant. A hula dancer had just finished her alluring hip-gyrating number.
This is nihilism, I thought to myself. I had heard it all before.
"All ideologies are defective," she continued, "all societal norms are wrong, and all social structures are meaningless."
This sophomoric depiction was by now getting to me. But there was more to come:
"Get rid of all institutions, political frameworks, and cultural values. Don't waste your time and energy trying to improve America – it's pointless and futile. All existing systems in America must be torn down."
I had heard enough and just could not take it anymore. As if suddenly stung by a scorpion, I jumped to my feet.
"Excuse me!" I said, unable to control the tone of my voice or behavior and not even thinking about what I would say. "How right the young lady is; sure, there were no houses, roads, electricity, or infrastructure before. Why do we need them now? Why do we need airplanes? The young lady swam here all the way from New York City. And she even gave birth to herself, raised herself, planted the crops and harvested the fields, built the roads and trucks, and brought electricity here tonight. Oh, yes, the meal and the drinks we all enjoyed this evening fell from heaven."
I had only gotten started, and it seemed I would never stop. The people around me in the small restaurant initially looked at me as if I was crazy. In rapid succession, their faces began lighting up like light bulbs one after another until they were all lit. Well lit. They began nodding their heads in approval with every point I was making. I was in a messianic mode. The young lady seemed at a loss. She had been broadsided. Unexpectedly.
"All you people want to do is destroy, tear down, and offer nothing in its place." I continued, somewhat emboldened. "You depress me. You lack substance or purpose. What's the matter with you?"
Then I sat down and shut up.
I had also shut her up. I felt relieved no one had attacked me physically. The couple at the table across from me silently clapped when our eyes crossed. The waiter approached my table with a fresh beer – "It's from the gentleman over there by the bar," he said, pointing to a man sitting on a stool raising his drink. I acknowledged the gift by lifting my glass in his direction.
We have some friends here, I thought.
And I indeed needed that beer just there and then. Like a pufferfish, I hastened to pass that cold liquid through my lips to increase my defenses.
The nerve that young person had! America, the country she was deriding, was my savior; its institutions and people had thrown me a lifeline and enabled me to reach enviable heights. I was not about to sit there and allow such abuse. I owed it to America to rise in its defense out of mere decency.
Come on, people! Don't we, immigrants, and all children of American immigrants owe America something?
Praise for My Ailing Champion
From Discovery Reviews (Reedsy), a leading professional review organization:
Synopsis
My Ailing Champion details the harsh environment of the Nazi occupation in Greece and the many obstacles the author faced to get an education in the post-WW II years. Family and community leaders opposed education. The author's mother prevented him from reading books. It was with great difficulty that the author's father was persuaded to allow the completion of secondary education. To secure free labor, the author's father, over two years, promised his support for higher education but deceived the son. The sisters' dowries were a significant impediment. Ultimately, the family beat up the author and tossed him into the streets hungry and penniless, robbing him of his education dream forever.
It was for America to throw a lifeline and enable the author to get an education, even a Ph.D. The author expresses his deep gratitude for a chance at the American Dream and bemoans the current state of America, his ailing champion. He casts a hopeful note stemming from America's noble character and long-term aspirations, concluding that, far from being perfect, America is nevertheless the best country the world has ever known.
Demetrius Koubourlis was raised on the Grecian sea waterfront in Rion. The constant stream of travelers affected his love of cultures and sparked a desire for education. This was to his father's dismay as attending a school would keep Demetrius for the main part of the day instead of helping out at the family hotel and restaurant. Greek society was also an obstacle due to the cultural norms that put education on the back burner. Demetrius pursues a love of music and school despite societal norms and familial obstacles by attempting to trailblaze a path that keeps him from an existential crisis of mental complacency and raises him out of homelessness.
He does a great job of addressing the indoctrination that results from our cultural upbringing to show how he has come to understand and interpret the behaviors of those around him throughout his life. The novel has many heartbreaking times, but the author always keeps his pride about him. While this is sometimes to his detriment, it allows him to express gratitude for all the chance encounters that have helped shape his life. To break up the story into more digestible chunks, Demetrius offers life lesson chapters reflecting the interplay between moral and societal norms that impact how we view the circumstances that befall us.
Overall My Ailing Champion is a great book about betrayal and rising out of a dark situation emphasizing a love for education and the American Dream. … I recommend this book to readers looking for a challenge as certain parts are high-level reading."
–Discovery Reviews (Reedsy)
Reviewed by Amy DiMaio
"From the beginning of the Prologue, I was hooked, couldn't wait to read more, and was not disappointed.
The very personal introspective insights endeared me to this author, who expressed such open honesty in a delightful writing style.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have an in-depth look into this very special person's unique life and adventures. One of the most enjoyable books I have read."
– "Kendall," Panama
"A very personal shedding of cultural bondage and family conflict . Beginning in a post war Greece. This is a story of a man's innate passion for learning and the restraining circumstances that caused tremendous inner conflict. Not without incredible resilience does he emerge from a long battle to achieve his goals.
This autobiography celebrates the American dream with sincere gratitude from the perspective of an immigrant at a time where his champion struggles to uphold its place in the current global order.
A powerful and deeply courageous baring of the soul makes this a fascinating read from beginning to end.
Unstoppable Demetrius- I hope you have found some peace and happiness."
–Megan Bachmann, South Africa
From Booklife, a leading professional review organization.
"Any dream worth chasing becomes an even more arduous pursuit without social and familial support. This is the premise of Koubourlis's contemplative, plaintive, and ultimately rousing memoir, a story that begins in Nazi-occupied Greece, faces that nation's harrowing three-year civil war, and builds, after agonizing bureaucratic hardship in a system "designed with zero respect for the citizens," to the author's immigration to the United States, where he earned a B.A. and doctorate in just eight years. Doing so involved much sacrifice, including "irrevocable family ostracization" and declining his own inheritance. Koubourlis grapples with family relationships, especially a standoffish mother and an autocratic and abusive father who considered—like many in their community—education "a privilege reserved for the upper crust."
Through sharp, observant writing, Koubourlis recounts an impassioned pursuit of learning in spite of a restrictively traditional culture. Once, his mother burned his newspaper collection clippings, and twice, his father betrays him—denying their deal of financially supporting his study in Italy in exchange for running their grocery store unpaid—by commanding with finality that the dowries of Koubourlis's unmarried sisters come first before his studies. "Ignorance has its own blind strength," Koubourlis notes. "It is intolerant, sure of itself, unreasoning" Still, he persists through ordeals— facing poverty, hunger, and unplanned marriage—but still striving for his dream. There's power in his choice to come to America, a nation he champions: what better way to liberate a thwarted dream than to migrate to a place that claims democracy for all its people?
His striking definition of self-worth— the "protector and motivator in the struggle for success"—powers the narrative, as Koubourlis narrates, with insight and vivid detail, his navigation of indifference, insensitivity, and cultural clash, asking probing questions and sharing sage advice about what it takes to succeed, namely self-worth, wise use of time, and that which happens when preparation meets opportunity—luck. He finds that future in America, and perhaps, through the writing, some peace with the past, too.
Takeaway: Pointed, pained, touching account of coming to America for learning and freedom."
–Booklife
"My Ailing Champion is part love letter to America and part epic tale about an extraordinary life. This book would make a great movie, written with insight, peppered with opinions, wit, and Koubourlis' unique perspective. Even though parts of this book are pretty intellectual, I find the writing style to be mostly easy & enjoyable to read.
As a child, the author learned about horror and death firsthand and describes it vividly and with the perspective of his now grown-up, considerable intellect. The wars and the ugly culture created by those wars he describes are disturbing. I think it's essential that we don't forget what a catastrophe war is, and this book helps cement that in the reader's mind.
I found the "Hotel University" section fascinating. A "university," indeed! A curious, intelligent child who loved books couldn't find a more interesting place to learn how to "read" people. Sadly (and unbelievably, to me), his parents did everything they could to prevent him from attending school past the compulsory elementary years. Such a foreign idea to me! My suburban American parents rewarded me all through school whenever I excelled, and their fervent hope and dream was that I get a university degree. And they were super proud of me when I did. I never imagined that there could be parents out there like Demetrius'.
Returning to the movie theme, he was so determined to learn and loved learning so much for its own sake that I cheered for him as he overcame incredible obstacles to get an education. My heart sang for him when some person crossed his path and helped him in his seemingly sacred educational endeavor. It's easy to get emotionally involved in this story. Your heart can't help but go out to ambitious little Demetrius.
The "love letter" hits high gear with Demetrius' excitement and ambition when he starts his new, grown-up life in America. The cultural differences and life-learning experiences as he works his way through college are sometimes poignant and often humorous, and I enjoyed them a lot. His resilience and persistence in his educational goals are inspirational. Helpful people continue to appear in his life, and he learns from and appreciates every single one. Like (fast) clockwork, he accomplishes his goals. But there is a bit of a cliffhanger ending, suggesting a possible sequel? It is an excellent memoir, surprisingly revealing in some ways and maddeningly mysterious in others. A very interesting, inspiring, motivational read."
– BajaLeslie, USA
"A de profundis baring of one's soul! A dreamer's vicissitudes and the agony of coming of age in Greece. I really enjoyed reading it and identified with most of it. A lot of memorable quotes."
–Chris Poulos, USA/Greece
"In My Ailing Champion, Demetrius Koubourlis' memoir, we have a candid self-reflection from the author from an early age. We learn about his hard work and ambitious nature, which allows him to win over adversity and accomplish his goals. This is so despite any parental or family support.
As I read, I found myself cheering him on and wishing him success against all adversity. I continued to read as Koubourlis described honest personal experiences as he wove in historical details. This kept me captivated until the end and left me curious to know more.
I recommend this memoir, My Ailing Champion, to anyone who believes in the human spirit, the power of education, personal fulfillment of goals, and in achieving the American dream."
–Dania Schleff, USA/Cuba
"An interesting book about a man who has lived long and seen much. Thought-provoking and highly intellectual."
–Lisa Whitehead, USA
"Praise for an Extraordinary Man and His Remarkable Journey: Demetrius Koubourlis has gifted us with a profound memoir that chronicles the challenges of his boyhood in Greece, painting a vivid portrait of resilience, tenacity, and the indefatigable human spirit. His story is a testament to the power of curiosity, willpower, and intelligence, qualities that propelled him from the hardships of his early life to the shores of the United States.
With an unyielding thirst for knowledge and a relentless drive, he seized every opportunity for education, culminating in a Ph.D. This remarkable achievement is but one chapter in a life characterized by diversity and success, a testament to his extraordinary capabilities and unwavering determination.
His journey reflects a deep curiosity about human nature, an exploration of what motivates people, what shapes a good person, and what leads to failure. His insights offer a profound understanding of what it takes to succeed in life and how humanity can learn from its past to forge a better future.
This book is more than a memoir; it is a beacon of hope and inspiration. It challenges us to reflect on our own lives and encourages us to pursue our dreams with the same vigor and passion. Through his life story, the author has not only chronicled his personal achievements but has also provided a roadmap for others to follow, showcasing the boundless possibilities that lie within each of us."
–Hans Kessel, Switzerland
"This exciting book is a rare and welcome amalgam of books on autobiography and history. While the book centers around Mr. Koubourlis' life experiences, he doesn't live in a vacuum. The book is deft in critical thinking on why things played out as they did, frequently referencing cultural factors as predominant causes."
–Peter Bo Hansen, Chile/Denmark
(Scroll down for translation).
"Für mich war "My Ailing Champion" eines der Bücher, die mir im Leben am meisten die Augen öffneten. Deshalb war es auch teilweise schwer und traurig, es zu lesen, da wir in viele Abgründe des menschlichen Verhaltens geführt werden, und ich oft nicht glauben wollte und konnte, was ich da las.
Nichts desto Trotz ist "My Ailing Champion" für mich ein positives Buch. Wir dürfen Dank dieser ergreifenden Lebensgeschichte lernen, dass es war ist - die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt. Egal welche Schwierigkeiten sich uns in den Weg stellen, wenn wir das Ziel klar vor Augen haben kann uns nichts von unserem Erfolg abhalten. Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Ich bin zutiefst berührt, dankbar und ergriffen, dass ich auch noch das Glück habe den Autor persönlich zu kennen und viele Worte und Geschichten direkt aus seinem Mund hören darf.
Demetrius Koubourlis ist ein Mann, den es lohnt kennenzulernen, und seine Bücher zu lesen ist sicher das Zweitbeste, das man tun kann. Ich bin der festen Überzeugung, dass jeder aus seinen Worten genau das schöpfen kann, was ihm oder ihr im Moment auf dem eigenen Lebensweg am besten nützt.
"My Ailing Champion" ist ein faszinierendes Buch, das eine faszinierende Lebensgeschichte erzählt. Ich werde es auf jeden Fall immer im Gedächtnis halten, und es als einen der Wegweiser für mein eigenes Leben sehen und nutzen."
(Translation:
"For me, "My Ailing Champion" was one of the most eye-opening books of my life. That is why it was sometimes difficult and sad to read it, as we are led into many abysses of human behavior, and I often didn't want to and couldn't believe what I was reading. Nevertheless, "My Ailing Champion" is an optimistic book for me. Thanks to this poignant life story, we can learn that it is true -- hope dies last. No matter what difficulties stand in our way, if we have our goal clearly in mind, nothing can stop us from succeeding. Where there is a will, there is a way.
I am deeply touched, grateful, and moved by the fact that I am also lucky enough to know the author personally and to have heard many words and stories directly from his mouth. Demetrius Koubourlis is a man worth getting to know, and reading his books is undoubtedly the second-best thing you can do. I firmly believe that everyone can draw from his words precisely what is best for him or her at a given moment on their own path in life.
"My Ailing Champion" is a fascinating book that tells a fascinating life story. I will always keep it in mind and use it as a guide for my own life.")
–Franziska Norman, Germany
"I really enjoyed reading this account of Demetrius' life and his early struggles. The book is well-written, easy to understand, and keeps the reader engaged in learning about Demetrius' childhood and later in his adult years in the U.S.
It was very eye-opening to see his family's bias against education and how the children were supposed to help the family while putting their own futures on hold. This also seemed to be the general cultural attitude towards education in Greece at the time, which I wasn't aware of. This is very different from the cultural importance that education was given as my parents were growing up in India in the 1950s and 1960s. Back then, education was seen as a crucial means by which families could become upwardly mobile and parents greatly supported their kids' efforts at becoming educated while still helping out the family at home. This is also very true of India today.
Demetrius' writing style gave me a vivid description of the intense struggles he had to face in order to pursue his educational dreams and how much getting an education meant to him. Despite all the obstacles in his way, I cheered him on each step of the way as he started to achieve his goals and ambitions. The various photos of his family through the years was also a nice touch -- it helped to put a face to the various people in his life...
Overall, I really liked the book and Demetrius' writing style. It's very easy to follow, keeps the reader engaged and you want to keep reading to see how it will all turn out."
–Len Arthanari, USA/India
"I finished reading the book. I found it to be a very good read. The historical facts about Greece were very enlightening. A very well-written life story. I also like the artwork."
–Rex Sheppard, USA
From Kirkus Reviews, a leading professional review organization:
"An often absorbing, if occasionally polemic, immigration remembrance and defense of the American dream.
In this memoir, a Greek immigrant to the United States who's also a linguistic scholar shares his version of the American dream.
The book opens in 1994 in a restaurant in the Cook Islands, where Koubourlis listened to an anticolonial anarchist at a nearby table pontificating on the history of American exploitation. As an immigrant who viewed the United States as a "savior," the author stood up to publicly debate the stranger on American virtues. This introductory anecdote sets the tone of the memoir, which centers on how the U.S. opened up educational, professional, and other opportunities for the author. The book's first half centers on his life in his home country of Greece. Born during his own nation's civil war, Koubourlis had a childhood that included homemade bomb shelters and other wartime horrors that he later featured in his short story collection, Sometimes Cruel (2023). The current book mostly focuses on his desire, as a young adult, for an education: "I was locked into a family and community conspiracy," he writes, describing himself as suffocated by the "war-traumatized mediocrity" of his family's psyche. Hungry for education, the author expressed dismay that his mother banned books from their home and encouraged him to find a trade or enlist in the military. To escape the limited opportunities of his motherland, Koubourlis immigrated to America in 1959 to attend California State College in Sacramento; the author recalls his awe at first seeing the Statue of Liberty and skyscrapers as his ship approached New York City. Over the course of the next two decades, his life centered on what he calls an "educational marathon." Koubourlis would earn a doctorate from the University of Washington's Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures Department and later become a tenured professor.
Although the author notes the highlights of his career, which included the publication of multiple scholarly books and his service as a foreign-exchange professor in the Soviet Union, much of his book is dedicated to his admiration of the nation he now calls home. Never one to back down from a philosophical debate, he notes his public squabbles with Ivy League Marxists, whom he describes as "ideological sleepers on the alert for any opportunity to replay their canned message." Although he's critical of American politicians driven by "crisis-driven policy," Koubourlis emphasizes his belief that his adopted country's "core ideals align with a better world." Those on the left of the political spectrum may disagree with his defense of American exceptionalism, as well as some of his policy positions, such as his argument that immigration authorities should prioritize "the cream of the crop." But the book's narrative offers an inspirational read when it's focused on the author's personal triumphs. The author employs an accessible, engaging style that's distinct from that of his peer-reviewed, academic writings. The text is accompanied by full-color maps, photographs, and other images, although some of the book's AI-generated artwork detracts from the narrative.
An often absorbing, if occasionally polemic, immigration remembrance and defense of the American dream."
–Kirkus Reviews
