ABSTRACT
This chapter presents and analyzes the experience of a Latin American adolescent that was separated from her parents because of her country's political circumstances. The study is based on the data provided by seventy-one letters written by this young woman, here called V. These letters span the period of nine years, while V. was between the ages of thirteen and twenty-two, covering not only her adolescence but also the most traumatic period in her life. After nearly a decade of separation, when she next saw her parents, V. was married and expecting her first child. Her primary outlet for the pain, grief, frustration, and uncertainty of those years was writing letters to one of her former teachers who had also emigrated. The established theories of psychological development presume an environment characterized by political stability, in which "environment" is equated with parental behavior. V'.s normal life and adjustment in adulthood conceal a difficult route and reveal her strength.
