Eleanor was born as a second-generation immigrant of Ashkenazi Jewish parents. They immigrated from Poland to America in search of a better life in the land of opportunities, and because of their decision, Eleanor grew up in a stressful time - her father was often without a job, leaving her and her mother to pick up his slack. She went to public school and, under the guidance of her mother, she succeeded in her schooling and then some. As she approached college, she was offered scholarships to attend Vassar College out in Poughkeepsie. She studied psychology and, while beginning work for her PhD, she took a flight to Oslo, Norway to attend a seminar, paid for by the graduate program. It was a smaller plane, and somewhere over Norway the plane crashed. Eleanor slipped into a coma, being treated by some doctors in the area. When she awoke, the outbreak had begun. She leaves the doctors' care in search of a new life and new meaning after the devastating news about the state of the world.