They Called Me Alicia is a true story about a young girl named Mercedes growing up in another time, place, and culture. Born in Quito, Ecuador to an unwed servant who could not afford to raise her, Mercedes is sold when she is four years old to an older woman who needs help in her home. Although Mercedes' life is filled with work and beatings, the old woman at least sends her to school, and she becomes settled in her new life. That is, until her mother re-enters her life seven years later and sends her to a convent to keep her "safe" from the streets. However, the convent is anything but safe. As Mercedes enters it, she is stripped of her everyday clothes, her dignity, and even her name. Now called "Alicia" by the nuns, Mercedes must adapt to a new life-one where she is verbally and physically abused and expected to do hard labour in return for her board and a limited education.

Told through Mercedes's eyes, this memoir was written sixty-two years after the events occurred by her adult daughter who felt it was important that the world know what her mother went through. Although occasionally disturbing, Mercedes's story is also inspirational because it is a story of inner strength, survival, and the determination to stay true to oneself no matter what others call you or say you are worth.