About the Authors
Dr. Angela Kyparissis
Founder and publisher of Livres Agapé Books, Angela Kyparissis, Ph.D., is a clinical and forensic psychologist, specialized in social behaviour. She obtained her doctorate at the University of Montreal after having completed a bachelor's degree with honours at McGill University, which included a minor in classical studies.
During her career, Dr. Angela has had the privilege of working with individuals from various walks of life. She is fascinated with the stories people tell, whether true, exaggerated, invented, or imaginary, because they offer an intriguing perspective on the human experience. She has also witnessed firsthand that the stories eventually told by adults depend largely on how their experiences were shaped as children.
Her previous publication contributions consist of scholarly articles and book chapters in her field of study. With the birth of her children however, she has ventured into children’s literature and has focused on creating positive stories for parents to read to their littles ones.
Eventually, she hopes to write a series of biographies, with an underlying psychological element, told from the subject’s perspective.
Claudia Amato
Meet Claudia, the multitasking maestro who navigates the bustling chaos of life with three lively children. With a knack for marketing, specializing in market research and account management, she's a Montreal native who's as active in her community as she is at home. When she's not orchestrating the school run, chauffeuring her young athletes to the next sports showdown, or ensuring the social calendar is on point, Claudia is wielding her pen to share stories that kindle the flames of reading passion in others. As a devoted volunteer at her children's school and local parish, she's not just shaping minds, but also crafting tales that spark imaginations.
Zoe Koulouris
Award-winning writer and editor Zoe Koulouris is the author of From Ashes She Rises a lyrical memoir touching on life and love in vivid haiku imagery.
A Greek-Canadian who hails from Montreal, she lives in the corporate world by day and writes fiction and children’s stories in the wee hours of the morning or late at night. She recently decided to return to school as well and is pursuing her master’s in creative writing. When her laptop isn’t garnering all her attention, she loves listening to music, staying active to keep her wellness in check, reading myriad publications (preferably in hard print!), cooking and baking, spending time with family and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
Connect with Zoe on Facebook, Instagram or X, or visit her website, zoekoulouris.com, to stay updated on her writing and works.
Daphne Christou (Δάφνη)
Δάφνη (Daphne Christou) studied Journalism and Mass Communications at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, before launching her career in publishing as a commissioning editor with some of Greece’s most prominent publishing houses and organizations, including Kapon Editions, Kleidarithmos, Economia Publishing, Delphi Economic Forum, Metaichmio, Livanis, and others. Alongside her editorial work, she has translated notable literary works from Portuguese, English, and Spanish into Greek, including Hippie by Paulo Coelho (from Portuguese) and Taxi by Carlos Zanón (from Spanish), as well as many children’s books. She also contributed as a journalist for the once widely-read Greek newspaper Ελευθεροτυπία (Eleftherotypia), where she covered cultural stories, world news, and conducted interviews.
To this day, she remains amused (and a little mystified) by how often people call her Δανάη (Danaë), a common mix-up with her own name. This quirk has earned her the nickname Δανάι Λάμα (Danai Lama), and, since words are no mere symptoms, now that she’s thinking it over, she may indeed share some qualities with His Holiness.
Δάφνη lives in Athens but spends much of her time in her beloved hometown, Ioannina, in northwestern Greece.
Δάφνη lives with words but does not trust them, feeling that no word can truly compete with silence.
Sophia Manarolis, M.Ed.
Sophia is a mental health strategist, author, and speaker. Above all, she’s a real human being, one with scars and vulnerability coupled with a fearlessness to be authentic and speak her truth. She has survived four major depressive episodes and multiple suicide attempts, and has committed her life, education, and career to bringing H.O.P.E to humanity by Helping Open People's Eyes concerning what the monster known as depression is really like!
Manarolis adamantly seeks to free human beings of unnecessary suffering, and so she combines her experience overcoming depression and suicide attempts with her Master's level training in Counselling Psychology and her training as a Certified Life Coach to help her clients feel lighter, freer, and more alive.
Sophia also spearheads a global movement, the I’M ALIVE Movement, dedicated to preventing people at large from experiencing burnout and depression. She believes that together through #its316andimalive, we can normalize the conversation surrounding depression so those suffering in silence know that they never have to fight alone ever again!
As she commonly states, “Life is too short to be and feel anything else but ALIVE."