Thea Halo is an American writer and painter of Assyrian and Pontic Greek heritage. Born in New York City she is the 8th child of Abraham and Sano Halo. Thea began writing poetry and short-stories in 1992 and in 2000 she published her book Not Even My Name, the memoir of her mother who belonged to Turkey's Pontic Greek minority, natives of the BlackSea coast region of Turkey known as Pontus. Sano "Themia" Halo was a recipient of the New York StateGovernor's Award for excellence in honor of Women's History Month, "Celebrating Women of Courage and Vision." Not Even My Name is the unforgettable story of Sano Halo's survival of the death march, at age ten, during the Greek genocide that annihilated her family. The title refers to Themia being renamed to Sano by an Assyrian family who could not pronounce her Greek name, after they took her in as a servant during the Greek genocide. The story is told by her daughter Thea, and includes their poignant mother-daughter pilgrimage to Pontus, Turkey in search of Sano's home seventy years after her exile. "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 the heart. Not Even My Name is 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 survivor's tale...Young Themia lost family, freedom, even her name.... Her daughter tells the sad story with simple grace." __ U.S. News & World Report "An eloquent and powerful account" __ Publishers Weekly "An unforgettable book." __ Booklist "Sano's is truly an amazing story of survival and resilience. An important and revealing book.... highly recommended for all libraries." __ Library Journal "Written in fast-moving eloquent prose with seamless suspense and drama" __ The Armenian Reporter "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. 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
