At age six, Ilse "Alice" Rene watched Nazi soldiers march down her street in Vienna, Austria, beginning an odyssey that would bring her to Riga, Latvia, and end in Portland, Oregon. Becoming Alice: A Memoir chronicles the adventure of her Jewish family's harrowing escape, their struggle as immigrants to fit into the American landscape, and Rene's personal problems growing up within a troubled family.

The family settles in Portland, where Rene's parents run a mom-and-pop grocery store. Different from her classmates, Rene feels ashamed and frightened, finding her only solace in her friendship with a neighborhood girl. During high school, she finds a kindred soul in Elaine, a Jewish girl with whom she shares an interest in boys. Rene is eager to start dating, but is hamstrung by her parents' restrictive old-world rules.

Rene decides to attend college at UCLA, believing it's her chance to discover her independence. Overwhelmed by anxieties and insecurity, she suffers from panic attacks and comes close to moving back home. When she transfers to Berkeley, she lives in a boarding house surrounded by girls from a patchwork of cultures and finally discovers her true identity. Becoming Alice brilliantly showcases Rene's triumph over adversity, identity crisis, and the sometimes-debilitating power of family ties.

About the Author

Alice Rene holds a master's degree in social welfare. She lives with her husband in Southern California.

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