The writer grew up in The Hague, Holland during WWII. She described those years in "A Point of Reference," published in 2002."1960 - Destination Israel," is a record of her 2 � years of residence in Israel through journals she wrote while working in Beer-Sheba and Jerusalem. She married while living in Jerusalem.Elsa's professional interest changed from chemistry to "Teaching English as a Second Language." She studied at Vermont College and taught English in Brazil for many years.The writer lives in California where she teaches English to immigrants as a volunteer.www.vanderlaaken.comelsa@vanderlaaken.com