No One Crosses the Wolf

In 2003, Nikolidakis’s father, who had abused her much of her young life, killed some family members and died by suicide. For years after, the author struggled with complicated grief, trauma, and addiction. This leads her to the last place she thought she would go: Crete, Greece, her father’s childhood home. To learn more about the man who caused so much pain, she seeks out his family to see if there were any prior signs of the incoming violence throughout his childhood. This dark and gripping memoir leads readers through Nikolidakis’s childhood, past her father’s death, and to a place of hope and healing. This book grapples with the cycle of abuse, the toll that trauma takes on one’s body, and most importantly, how to move forward. This memoir holds nothing back. It is brutally honest, heart-wrenching, evocative, and soul-searching. While Nikolidakis is honest about the darkness she’s endured, she also opens up the metaphorical window and gives the readers light.