Not Even My Name - by Thea Halo (Paperback)

About the Book

The riveting world-of-mouth sensation--now in paperback--recounts Sano Halo's exile from Turkish genocide after World War I, as told by her daughter Thea. 8-page photo insert.

Book Synopsis

A riveting account of exile from Turkish genocide, brought to light for the first time ever in Sano Halo's personal story

Not Even My Name exposes the genocide carried out during and after WW I in Turkey, which brought to a tragic end the 3000-year history of the Pontic Greeks (named for the Pontic Mountain range below the Black Sea). During this time, almost 2 million Pontic Greeks and Armenians were slaughtered and millions of others were exiled.

Not Even My Name is the unforgettable story of Sano Halo's survival, as told to her daughter, Thea, and of their trip to Turkey in search of Sano's home 70 years after her exile. Sano Halo was a 10-year-old girl when she was torn from her ancient, pastoral way of life in the mountains and sent on a death march that annihilated her family. Stripped of everything she had ever held dear, even her name, Sano was sold by her surrogate family into marriage when still a child to a man three times her age.

Not Even My Name follows Sano's marriage, the raising of her ten children in New York City, and her transformation as an innocent girl who was forced to move from a bucolic life to the 20th century in one bold stride. Written in haunting and eloquent prose, Not Even My Name weaves a seamless texture of individual and group memory, evoking all the suspense and drama of the best told tales.

Review Quotes

"In telling her mother's epic story of survival and ultimate triumph in America, Thea Halo has written an important book about a largely unknown history: the genocide of the Pontic Greeks at the hands of the Turkish government in the years following World War I. Thea Halo's deeply moving portrait of her mother reverberates with large moral issues that affect us all." --Peter Balakian, author of Black Dog of Fate

"As written by her daughter, Thea, Sano's harrowing account of the destruction of her family and her world is told with such vivid detail that every page sears the mind and heart . . . A work of burning intensity, self-evidently powerful and true." --Nicholas Gage, author of Eleni

"Deeply moving . . . It is impossible to read the story of this woman's life without marveling at the strength of her spirit." --The Washington Post Book World

"A story of personal strength and the great triumph of mere survival." --The New York Times

"Thea Halo tells this sad story with simple grace." --U.S. News & World Report

"An unforgettable book." --Booklist (starred review)

"Sano Halo's tale is devoid of pretense, literary or historical, and it is all the stronger for it." --Michael Doran, Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Thea Halo is a writer and painter who has won awards for her poetry and essays, and has exhibited her paintings in galleries in New York City and elsewhere. She lives in New York City.