Taxi to America: A Greek Orphan's Adoption Journey

Stella's journey from Thessaloniki, Greece to America begins with a pre-dawn taxi ride that she and her sister share while the coffin holding a loved one rides along in the taxi's trunk. Orphaned and separated from her younger sister "for her own good" as the culture dictated at the time, Stella ends up being adopted by a Greek couple that had emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in the US. At age 11, she overcomes multiple losses and cultural differences to find a place in her new homeland, while finding ways to stay connected to those she loved in Greece. This story of resilience and perseverance follows Stella's journey of becoming an "Amerikanaki" and eventually reconnecting with her sister, who had stayed in Greece with her own set of adoptive parents. Even as Stella embraces her new life and culture in America, she rebuilds her loving relationship with her sister after an eight-year separation. Later in life, the sisters take another taxi ride together, this time to recover important details of their birth parents' life stories that mirror the determination to survive and thrive that marks their own.