Allende was born on August 2, 1942, in Lima, Peru. Tomás Allende, Allende's father, was a Chilean diplomat. Allende's uncle and godfather was Salvador Allende, the president of Chile. Her mother, Francisca, divorced Tomás two years after Allende's birth and took her to the maternal grandparents' home to be raised. Despite the fact that Allende never kept contact with her father after this point, she still remained very close to the paternal side of the family, especially Salvador Allende.

In 1973, Salvador Allende was assassinated as part of a military coup against his socialist government. This changed Allende's life profoundly. She was very close to her uncle, and his death would affect the rest of her life. From that point on, the author felt her life was divided into events that happened before the assassination and events that happened after. Residing in Chile eventually proved...