Lise grew up in a small town in upstate New York called Hamilton. Her dad was an English professor, and her mom, who was an editor until Lise was born, had her hands full with Lise and her four brothers and sisters. There was literally never a dull moment with so many younger siblings to pick on!

When Lise was in fifth grade, she played the trumpet and piano, and loved just about all sports. She was always small for her age, until about age 15, when she officially became "average." Her nickname was "Little Legs" because in spite of her size, she clocked a pretty good mile. Her hobbies back then included stamp collecting, whittling, knitting, fishing for sunnies, pogo-sticking, ice skating, riding her 3-speed English bike, picking wild black raspberries, tree climbing, and sneaking down to Streeter's Five & Dime for penny candy, which she wasn't allowed to eat. One day she and her friend took a silver dollar from her friend's mom's dresser and bought 100 pieces of bubble gum. Unfortunately, they didn't get away with it. But at least she lived to tell the story!