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'American Gypsy': A Road From Siberia To Hollywood

August 16, 2012
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Oksana Marafioti spent her childhood touring the Soviet Union with her Romani family, a traveling Gypsy ensemble.

When she was fifteen, her family emigrated to the United States and this move set off a whirlwind of change. Her parents divorced, and her father — among other pursuits — opened a psychic shop.

Marafioti talks with NPR's John Donvan about her memoir, American Gypsy, and her journey from the stages of Siberia to a magnet school in Hollywood.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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