My (Underground) American Dream
My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive
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Narrated by:
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Julissa Arce
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By:
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Julissa Arce
About this listen
What does an undocumented immigrant look like? What kind of family must she come from? How could she get into this country? What is the true price she must pay to remain in the United States?
Julissa Arce knows firsthand that the most common, preconceived answers to those questions are sometimes far too simple - and often just plain wrong.
On the surface, Arce's story sounds like a how-to manual for achieving the American dream: growing up in an apartment on the outskirts of San Antonio, she worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, and landed a coveted job on Wall Street, complete with a six-figure salary. The level of professional and financial success that she achieved was the very definition of the American dream. But in this brave new memoir, Arce digs deep to reveal the physical, financial, and emotional costs of the stunning secret that she, like many other high-achieving, successful individuals in the United States, had been forced to keep not only from her bosses, but even from her closest friends.
From the time she was brought to this country by her hardworking parents as a child, Arce - the scholarship winner, the honors college graduate, the young woman who climbed the ladder to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs - had secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant. In this surprising, at times heart-wrenching, but always inspirational personal story of struggle, grief, and ultimate redemption, Arce takes listeners deep into the little-understood world of a generation of undocumented immigrants in the United States today - people who live next door, sit in your classrooms, work in the same office, and may very well be your boss. By opening up about the story of her successes, her heartbreaks, and her long-fought journey to emerge from the shadows and become an American citizen, Arce shows us the true cost of achieving the American dream - from the perspective of a woman who had to scale unseen and unimaginable walls to get there.
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Coming Home to Myself is the result of that emotional journey, a song of personal discovery that taught Wynonna Judd to love not just what she does, but who she is. From a truly exceptional woman comes an unexpected memoir of survival, strength, hope, and forgiveness, filled with an exultant and empowering message certain to resonate with those who have dreamed of finding themselves, and who only needed the courage and inspiration to begin their own journey.
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Not an Interesting Memoir
- By Marcos on 03-14-09
By: Wynonna Judd, and others
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Americanized
- Rebel Without a Green Card
- By: Sara Saedi
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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At 13, bright-eyed straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: She was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn't learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job but couldn't because she didn't have a Social Security number. Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn't keep her from being a teenager.
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Corny Cheesy
- By Mina00 on 09-06-18
By: Sara Saedi
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The Priority List
- A Teacher's Final Quest to Discover Life's Greatest Lessons
- By: David Menasche
- Narrated by: David Menasche
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons.
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Truly Inspiring!!
- By Trish on 07-13-14
By: David Menasche
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In the Country We Love
- My Family Divided
- By: Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford
- Narrated by: Diane Guerrero
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the megahit Orange Is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, was just 14 years old on the day her parents were detained and deported while she was at school. Born in the US, Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family.
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Moves very slowly
- By Laura S. on 07-23-16
By: Diane Guerrero, and others
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The Todd Glass Situation
- A Bunch of Lies about My Personal Life and a Bunch of True Stories about My 30-Year Career in Standup Comedy
- By: Todd Glass, Jonathan Grotenstein
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up in a Philadelphia suburb in the 1970s was an easy life. Well, easy as long as you didn't have dyslexia or ADD, or were a Jew. And once you added gay into the mix, life became more difficult. So Todd Glass decided to hide the gay part, no matter how comic, tragic, or comically tragic the results. Now, Todd has written an open, honest, and hilarious memoir in an effort to help everyone - young and old, gay and straight - breathe a little more freely.
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Worth It
- By Heather on 11-17-14
By: Todd Glass, and others
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I'm Walking as Straight as I Can
- Transcending Disability in Hollywood and Beyond
- By: Ted Nichelson, Geri Jewell
- Narrated by: Geri Jewell
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Born with cerebral palsy, Geri Jewell inspired a generation of young people when she became the first person with a disability to appear in a recurring role on prime-time television, with her groundbreaking character, Cousin Geri, on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. The book's title - I’m Walking As Straight As I Can - has a double meaning, referring to both Jewell's sexuality and her extraordinary struggle growing up with cerebral palsy.
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Excellent! I recommend!
- By Sharlotte on 06-06-16
By: Ted Nichelson, and others
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Undocumented
- A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League
- By: Dan-el Padilla Peralta
- Narrated by: Dan-el Padilla Peralta
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Dan-el Padilla Peralta has lived the American dream. As a boy he came here legally with his family. Together they left Santo Domingo behind, but life in New York City was harder than they imagined. Their visas lapsed, and Dan-el's father returned home. But Dan-el's courageous mother was determined to make a better life for her bright sons. Undocumented is a classic story of the triumph of the human spirit. It also is the perfect cri de coeur for the debate on comprehensive immigration reform.
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A must read, but
- By Louise de Marillac on 10-10-15
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Bare Bones
- I'm Not Lonely If You're Reading This Book
- By: Bobby Bones
- Narrated by: Bobby Bones
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up poor in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, with a young, addicted mom, Bobby Estell fell in love with country music. Abandoned by his father at the age of five, Bobby saw the radio as his way out - a dream that came true in college when he went on air at the Henderson State University campus station broadcasting as Bobby Bones while simultaneously starting The Bobby Bones Show at 105.9 KLAZ.
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A look inside the narcissist life of Bobby Bones.
- By Selena on 05-20-16
By: Bobby Bones
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Let's All Be Brave
- Living Life with Everything You Have
- By: Annie F. Downs
- Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Annie F. Downs admits she's not exactly the bravest girl in the world. She still cries sometimes when she leaves her parents' home in Georgia, she's never jumped out of a plane, and she rides roller coasters only to impress boys. But Annie knows that courage resides inside each and every one of us, and she's on a mission to triumph over her own fears while encouraging listeners to do the same.
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Truly inspired
- By Gregory Wade Odell on 06-21-23
By: Annie F. Downs
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One Call Away
- Answering Life's Challenges with Unshakable Faith
- By: Brenda Warner, Jennifer Schuchmann
- Narrated by: Christie King
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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What can you do when your well-laid plans fall apart and life takes an unexpected turn? Brenda Warner is best known as the outspoken wife of NFL superstar and Dancing with the Stars alum Kurt Warner. But years earlier, she found herself living through any woman’s nightmare: a healthy baby tragically injured in the bathtub; a sudden end to a career she loved; betrayal and divorce; poverty; public humiliation; a deadly natural disaster that destroyed her foundation and shook her to her core. One shattering phone call at a time, Brenda Warner’s life came to resemble little of her dream.
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Page turner and worth a thousand credits !
- By Marian on 10-27-14
By: Brenda Warner, and others
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Under Red Skies
- Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China
- By: Karoline Kan
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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A deeply personal and shocking look at how China is coming to terms with its conflicted past as it emerges into a modern, cutting-edge superpower.
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An intimate view of real life in China
- By Lonnie G. Hardy, Jr. on 08-15-19
By: Karoline Kan
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Separated @ Birth
- A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited
- By: Anais Bordier, Samantha Futerman
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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It all began when design student Anaïs Bordier viewed a YouTube video and saw her own face staring back. After some research, Anaïs found that the Los Angeles actress Samantha Futerman was born in a South Korean port city called Busan on November 19, 1987 - the exact same location and day that Anaïs was born. This propelled her to make contact - via Facebook. One message later, both girls wondered: Could they be twins?
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Touching, heartwarming
- By Kelvin L. Reed on 11-01-22
By: Anais Bordier, and others
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The Wrong End of the Table
- A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit In
- By: Ayser Salman, Reza Aslan - foreword
- Narrated by: Ayser Salman, Assaf Cohen
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Part memoir and part how-not-to guide, The Wrong End of the Table is everything you wanted to know about Arabs but were afraid to ask, with chapters such as “Tattoos and Other National Security Risks,” “You Can’t Blame Everything on Your Period; Sometimes You’re Going to Be a Crazy Bitch: and Other Advice from Mom,” and even an open letter to Trump. This is the story of every American outsider on a path to find themselves in a country of beautiful diversity.
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Not what I was looking for
- By Amazon Customer on 09-01-22
By: Ayser Salman, and others
What listeners say about My (Underground) American Dream
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-21-23
Interesting story
A very interesting and captivating read. Hard work and perseverance pays off. Julissa is a great author and narrator. Enjoyed this book.
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- Cristina Castillo
- 07-14-20
Enlightened
To be able to open up and allow others in is breath taking. thank you!
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- Gabrielle
- 01-17-23
A MUST READ!!!!!
I think everyone would love this book it is incredibly well written, keeps you very focused and invested in the story, and provides extremely valuable education on immigrant experiences in the US.
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- janice
- 12-05-18
Loved this book!!!
I really enjoyed listening to this book!! Great story and May God continue to bless you on your journey!!
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-28-21
amazing story!
This book was heart felt and read by the author, definitely felt the emotion when she read it. Julissa is an inspiration y orgullo! Incredible the length she had to go through to survive in this country when she had every right to live and accomplish so much without that constant fear. More people should read this book and try to understand people who aren't like them.
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- Jacqueline Camero
- 08-11-17
MUST READ/LISTEN! Loved the rawness of it all
If you could sum up My (Underground) American Dream in three words, what would they be?
Profound, intense, honest
What was one of the most memorable moments of My (Underground) American Dream?
Over 11 billion dollars are paid in taxes by undocumented immigrants in the US. Money that they will never benefit from.
What does Julissa Arce bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Hearing the heartbreak in her voice as she described her profound loneliness.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Cry because my mother was an immigrant like Julissa, and she too was afraid of her own shadow. But unlike them I'm not afraid, also unlike them I was born an American and for that I am forever proud and grateful to my parents.
Any additional comments?
Thanks Julissa for sharing such a personal, emotional and relatable story that has truly touched my heart.
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- Cindy Gutierrez
- 10-30-20
heartfelt story about resilience
loved everything about it. no one would be disappointed. gives a great perception of the life of an undocumented immigrant who found herself through hardship.
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- sl
- 03-09-17
fantastic!
I loved listening to this audiobook! I feel completely inspired by Julissa's story. the topic of undocumented immigrants is near and dear to my heart. if you are ignorant about or interested in education, Mexican American culture, women in the workplace, or undocumented immigrants in our country, please read and share this book!
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-28-20
LOVED IT!
LOVED IT! Felt like I was there with you! Congratulations on your strength and success!
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- Karla M Estrada
- 08-25-21
Amazing.
Everyone should read this book. Such an amazing read and the information that is given is profound and real. Thank you Julissa!!!
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