Alpert's memoirs tell the story of his search for himself, his family

Merrick Albert was only six when his father decided to pack his bags and leave the family.

"Your father won't be coming back anymore," his mother said.

She never spoke of him again.

At the Co-op on Wednesday, Alpert, a former UConn graduate and current candidate for U.S. Senate, discussed his touching and vivid memoir, "Morning Sun: A Story of Hope, Purpose and the Power of Family," reading short passages from his story, providing some background information. Afterward, he held a question and answer session with the audience.

Morning Sun chronicles his quest in search of himself and his long-lost father who had walked out on the family 30 years earlier. Along with his brother and sister, he grew up in a single-parent home in rural Connecticut amid a slew of both emotional and financial hardships.

His mother certainly sought the best for her children, juggling two jobs, teaching at a public school during the week and cutting bread on the weekends to make ends meet. With some assistance from the community, she found a way to send him to Kingswood Oxford.

"She was the one who crafted me," Alpert said.

Unaccustomed to being around people who had money at school, Alpert faced a very different path than most others his age were headed toward, one that tested his knowledge about who he was and who we would become.

Andrew Rice, a 7th-semester molecular cell biology major, regards himself as a lucky child.

"My parents were always there for me on the weekends. You can appreciate what you have considering his story," he said.

With a great deal of self-reflection and the support of a compassionate community and a loving family, Alpert rose above his struggles, attending UConn, Trinity College and Georgetown law school in pursuit of the "American dream."

Without the guidance of his history professor Kent Newmyer, philosophy professor John Troyer and English professor John Reynolds at UConn, he would not be the same man he is today, Reynolds said. He noticed his tremendous command of the language and his ability to move people with his words, thereby instilling a profound sense of confidence in Alpert who later realized the "magic" in writing.

"Do what is right" Troyer constantly repeated. And so it became Alpert's mantra throughout the course of his life.

Generous in nature, Alpert felt that he had a moral obligation to serve in some way, leading him to fight in the war-torn region of Bosnia and a career in democratic politics. After first working with Al Gore, he later followed Clinton-Gore campaign trail, serving many causes he greatly believed in.

Trent Laima, a 7th-semester political science major, who currently works alongside Alpert, said he heard about Alpert's campaign in one of his classes and liked what he stood for and wanted to get involved.

"He shows the power of hard work," Laima said. "He deeply cares about people and has many innovative ideas."