MIDDLEBURY — As the youngest child of socially progressive Presbyterian missionaries, Elizabeth Rice spent most of the first 16 years of her life in Seoul, South Korea. At the time, Korea was at a pivotal juncture, emerging from brutal war that had divided the nation. Ilsley Library will host Rice on Thursday, July 6, from 4-5 p.m., when she will read from her first book, “Rituals of Separation: a South Korean Memoir of Identity and Belonging.” 
Rice will discuss the impact of growing up in Seoul when South Korea was still recovering from a horrific war, industrializing at a rapid pace, and seeing the burgeoning of a democracy movement that would eventually lead to the toppling of a line of dictators.
After leaving Korea, Rice received her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington. She worked in the NGO sector for many years, serving in a public health nonprofit for immigrants and refugees in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and working in grassroots community development organizations and nonprofits from Seattle to Mississippi to Zambia.
She is currently divides her time between Costa Rica and Vermont.