My Name Is Victoria: The Extraordinary Story of One Woman's Struggle to Reclaim Her True Identity

In this dramatic memoir, 33-year-old Donda (now a member of the Argentine National Congress and the youngest woman to hold this office) writes about growing up in a middle-class family during the late 1970s under Argentina's last military dictatorship. During the country's upheaval, more than 30,000 people (mostly young) died and many babies were "relocated" to military families after being taken from anti-government sympathizers. Donda was one of those children. In this story of family betrayal and Donda's struggle to understand her childhood, she explains how she was raised as "Analia" on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, and liked to pretend her name was Victoria. After attending law school and continuing her search for her past, Donda was eventually located in the late 1990s by the group Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Through DNA testing, she uncovered her real identity and learned to reconcile her two families. For readers interested in Argentina and its political past, this story will fascinate, though it may prove too intensely personal to sustain the interest of general readers. (Oct.)