Dreaming of Home - by Cristina Jiménez

Book Synopsis

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"Essential reading...entirely suited to a turbulent moment." --Washington Post

A MacArthur "Genius" shares her inspiring story, from undocumented newcomer to leader in a powerful immigrant youth movement.

Dreaming of Home is a coming-of-age story for both a young woman finding her true self and a social movement of immigrant youth trailblazers who inspired the world and changed the lives of millions.

Cristina Jiménez's family fought to stay afloat as Ecuador fell into a political and economic crisis. When she was thirteen, her family came to the US seeking a better life, landing in an overcrowded one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York. She lived in fear of deportation and ashamed of being undocumented, but eventually, Cristina discovered she was not alone. She made it into college when students and advocates won a change in the law, allowing undocumented students to access higher education. She was proud to be the first one in her family to go to college, but she felt out of place until she met professors and student activists who opened a new world where she found her calling within a community of social justice organizers.

With deep candor and humor, Cristina shows us what it's like to grow up undocumented and the reality that being a "good" immigrant doesn't shield you from systemic racism, danger--or even the confusion of falling in love. She invites us to acknowledge the America that never was and to imagine the America that could be when everyday people come together, build power, and fight for change, even when the world around us seems to be crumbling.

Review Quotes

Shortlist, the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice
Finalist, New American Voices Award
TIME, Best New Books in May
Ms. Magazine, May 2025 Reads
BookRiot, Best New Books in May
Daily Kos, New Nonfiction

"An invitation for readers to organize and dream of a more just place for all."
--USA Today

"At its core, Dreaming of Home is about reminding readers that change is possible.... In a moment when immigrant communities are once again under political attack, Cristina Jimenez is choosing to fight with her story--one that proves the power of organizing is as urgent now as ever."
--Fierce

"The co-founder and former executive director of the immigration advocacy nonprofit United We Dream has written a book that's part memoir, part guidebook for community organizing and entirely suited to a turbulent moment marked by quota-based mass deportations."
--The Washington Post

"While [Jiménez] hopes her book inspires readers to believe in the potential for collective action, she highlights the centrality of another theme: 'finding home even when that place you consider home tells you it doesn't want you.'"
--Publisher's Weekly

"A captivating and strong debut. An emotio an invitation for readers to organize and dream of a more just place for all. nal and inspirational recounting of the modern American immigrant rights movement."
--Kirkus

"Jiménez's story is one of transformation that is more than personal; it reaches the character of the United States ...This is for readers who remain interested in America as an equitable, inclusive community of diverse backgrounds, classes, faiths, genders, races and immigrants."
--Library Journal

"Powerful...Weaving personal experience with broader social justice movements, Jiménez sheds light on the trauma of immigration, the racial and economic inequities undermining U.S. communities, and the resilience of those who fight for a better future...an inspiring testament to perseverance and collective power."
--Booklist

"We all need to hear Cristina's story of moving from the shadows of a broken system to leading a movement that changed history."
--Heather Charisse McGhee, advocate and New York Times bestselling author of The Sum of Us

"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, poet, writer, and author of The House on Mango Street

"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, organizer, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and executive director of Caring Across Generations

"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

About the Author

Cristina Jiménez is an award-winning community organizer, bestselling author, and a leading voice in movements for social justice. She is Co-Founder and former Executive Director of United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country. A Distinguished Lecturer at the City University of New York, Jimenez received a 2017 MacArthur Fellowship and a spot on the 2018 TIME 100 Most Influential People List. She came to the U.S from Ecuador in 1998 and grew up undocumented in Queens, N.Y.