Summary

The introduction begins on the night of the 2016 Presidential election. Villavicencio is convinced Trump will win, and, when it is announced, she decides to write the memoir about being undocumented amidst emails from friends ready to hide her in their homes. She informs readers that all names, places and physical descriptions have all been changed. All notes, after legal review, have been destroyed. She has translated immigrants’ words as poetically as possible.

Chapter 1 begins with Villavicencio self-describing her family as New Yorkers despite originating from Ecuador. With a failing business in Ecuador and medical bills from an accident, her parents consent to moving to the United States for a year to pay off the debts, leaving Villavicencio as collateral. At four years old and gifted in studies, her parents send for her and enroll her in a Catholic school. Lacking funds, a...