Julissa Arce’s New Memoir Sheds Light on the Sacrifices Immigrant Families Make for a Better Future
Story written by Marivette Navarrete
“I used to think that my parents didn’t love me when they left me behind; and as I have grown up, I have realized that it’s because they love me that they were willing to leave me behind. That’s how much they cared for me.”
Julissa Arce, best-selling author, speaker, social justice advocate, former Wall Street executive, and co-founder of the Ascend Educational Fund, has released a powerful new memoir that delves into her experiences as an immigrant child and the sacrifices her family made to give her a better life.
Arce immigrated to the United States from Mexico at the age of 11 on a legal tourist visa. By the time she was 14, her visa had expired, leaving her undocumented. For the next 15 years, Arce lived in constant fear of deportation while pursuing the American dream. Despite these challenges, she rose through the ranks at Goldman Sachs, becoming a vice president at the age of 27, all while undocumented.
Now a naturalized U.S. citizen, Arce left her Wall Street career behind and shared her story in her 2016 national best-selling memoir, My (Underground) American Dream. Her new memoir, Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream, is a young adult adaptation of her first book. In it, she reflects on her experiences as an immigrant child. "When I was in middle school, I never read a single book with a protagonist like me—a Latina, a Mexican, an undocumented person," Arce notes. "There were no books that spoke to that experience."
Arce's story resonates with many immigrant children or children of immigrants, whose parents made the heart-wrenching decision to leave their children behind in their home countries while they sought work in the United States. Arce and her siblings were left in Taxco, Mexico, while their parents traveled back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. "I was three years old the first time my parents came to the U.S.," Arce recalls. "For the next eight years, I only saw them every few months when they visited Taxco. Then they would leave again, and I never knew how long they would be gone."
In Someone Like Me, Arce recounts the emotional toll of her parents' departures, how she would mark the days until their return, and the anxiety she felt when they were delayed. "I was overwhelmed by the stories of parents who left and never came back. As a child, you just hear horror stories of parents who forget their families in Mexico or die crossing the border."
For Arce, this cycle of separation and reunion defined her childhood. Raised by various relatives in Taxco, she remembers her parents’ brief returns, filled with joy, gifts, and celebrations. Yet, these visits were fleeting, and each departure left her feeling abandoned. "I used to think I was missing out on having my mom braid my hair or cook my dinner," Arce reflects. "But I’ve realized my mom wished she could have done those things too. It’s because they loved me that they were willing to leave me behind. That’s a central theme in the book: the sacrifices we make to achieve what we want."
At 11, Arce's parents decided to reunite the family in the United States. Adapting to life with her parents again was a slow process. "When you’re away from your parents for that long, it’s not like you can just flip a switch and go back to having a normal relationship," she explains.
At 14, Arce’s tourist visa expired, leaving her undocumented. "I didn’t really know what that meant," she says. "I found out I couldn’t have my quinceañera, and I was more worried about missing that party than about being undocumented because I didn’t understand what that was." As she assimilated into American culture, Arce focused on typical teenage activities like school and cheerleading. But her mother’s warning, “No le digas a nadie,” reminded her of the precariousness of her situation. It wasn’t until she applied to college that she fully grasped the impact of her undocumented status. “I felt lied to. I was told that if you work hard, you can achieve anything in America. But I was getting rejected by every college I applied to.”
While Arce's immigration story is central to her memoir, she emphasizes that the book is ultimately about family. "At its core, this book is about the love for family and the sacrifices families make for their children’s better future. I used to think my parents didn’t love me when they left me behind, but as I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that they left because they loved me."
Arce hopes her memoir will be included in school curriculums or reading lists for middle school students, providing representation for young readers who can relate to her experience. "Children who live that experience never see themselves reflected in books, and they feel like their experience isn’t important. I hope to inspire young readers to tell and write their own stories."
Reflecting on the impact of her writing, Arce shares, "The biggest reward has been hearing from readers who say, ‘This is the first time I’ve seen myself in a book.’ Whether I sell one book or 500,000, the fact that readers are inspired by my story means everything to me."
Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream is available today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, iBooks, Indigo Books, Google Play, Kobo, and Ebooks.com. Julissa Arce is currently on a book tour, and her first memoir, My (Underground) American Dream, is being developed as a television series by Twentieth Century Fox Television with producer and actor America Ferrera.