Finding João, a memoir

All my life I’ve been surrounded by an amazing family, but no one really looked like me, and I always felt like something was missing… until the day I turned around and saw my brother. He walked up, didn’t say a word, and just gave me a big hug. I’ll never forget that moment.

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In 2016, after years of searching, I found my biological father. In addition, I discovered that I had two brothers, nieces, nephews, an aunt, uncle, cousins, and lots of second, third, and + cousins. If you are Portuguese, from the Azores, you understand the “+cousins” comment.

I have been so incredibly lucky to be welcomed into my dad’s side of the family with open arms, and every day I learn more and more about them.

In 2019, I took a trip to Boston to meet my grandmother’s cousin and then to the Azores to see the little village she was from. We had an amazing trip.

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Finding João is the story of my journey from how I found my dad through cousin matches on Ancestry.com, to meeting my new family, learning about my Portuguese and Mexican roots, learning Azorean dishes with the help of Portuguese grannies on YouTube, and visiting the village my grandmother was from on the island of Flores.

I hope you enjoy the read. Coming soon in 2023.