Dreaming of Home

A Young Latina’s Journey to Pride, Power, and Belonging

By: Cristina Jiménez

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

A MacArthur “Genius” shares her inspiring story, from undocumented newcomer to activist in a powerful immigrant youth movement that changed the lives of millions

Cristina Jiménez’s family struggled to overcome the loss of her sister to cancer and stay afloat as Ecuador fell into a political and economic crisis. When she was thirteen, her parents courageously decided to seek a better life in the U.S. They landed in Queens, New York, cramming into a one-bedroom apartment with relatives and working multiple jobs. Despite the hardships and constant fear of deportation, Cristina learned English and became an honors student. Her dream of attending college was almost shattered by her undocumented status, but she was admitted after immigrant rights advocates won a change in the state’s law.

In college, she soon discovered she was not alone, not the only person struggling with feeling unwelcome and unworthy. Galvanized by her family’s experience and inspired by her new allies, she found her voice, eventually co-founding United We Dream, a national network that catalyzed a powerful youth movement to win DACA and protect over half a million young people from deportation.

In Dreaming of Home, Cristina reminds us that the antidote to fear and isolation is community. Being a “good” immigrant doesn’t protect you from systematic racism, but everyday people have the power to create a country where we all belong and thrive.

©2025 Cristina Jiménez (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Cristina came of age building a powerful movement of young people, fighting for their place in America. Her version of the American dream will be full of wisdom for this era." —Ai-jen Poo, author and organizer, President, The National Domestic Workers Alliance and Executive Director, Caring Across Generations

“Cristina Jiménez is documenting her life journey as an immigrant and in doing so, recording the journey of those who haven’t been acknowledged. We don’t count, we aren’t history unless we tell our own stories. In these turbulent times, Cristina’s voice is not only essential, it is heroic, a tongue of fire blazing in the night.” —Sandra Cisneros

"You cannot write the modern history of the immigrant rights movement—and, in turn, the evolution of racial and social justice—without the leadership of Cristina Jiménez. She is a force, in the best possible way. For years I've waited for her book, and I look forward to the insights she'll share in Dreaming of Home." —Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, founder of Define American, and author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen