My return to the USA left me without a language to explain my experience. Here half-siblings aren't "siblings;" a foreign place isn't "home;" I'm neither African American nor Nigerian (let's not even talk about Nordic!). Add to this the bonus of having inherited an eccentric stranger-father. Twelve years after this first confusing trip I receive a phone call from PBS asking if I'm interested in being part of a documentary about Americans whose life stories illustrate how global events shape families and ultimately, our society. I know from recent e-mails that my father and stepmother are quite ill, my siblings are now adults. Am I ready to return to Nigeria?

Copyright © 2004 Faith Adiele.

Faith Adiele's latest book, Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun in Thailand, was published by W.W. Norton in April 2004. She is presently at work on Twins: Growing Up Nigerian/Nordic/American, a memoir and cultural history that will complete the story begun in My Journey Home. Learn more about Faith Adiele at www.adiele.com.