Finding Lucy Garcia

For years, I talked about writing a book before turning 35. In my heart and mind, I was one thousand percent serious about it—but I’d frame it as a joke to shield myself from what I thought others might see as a silly dream. After all, I worked in corporate communications and marketing, with zero writing experience to back up my ambition. A side note... If I'm honest, I don't think anyone thought it was silly. I just didn't believe in myself enough back then. But more on that in another post.

In 2016, life had other plans in store for me. When my health forced me to leave the corporate world, I found myself at a crossroads, and ultimately, I decided to return to my first passion: teaching.

As a middle school language arts teacher, I rediscovered my love for storytelling. And it was magical. But, I also noticed something I couldn’t ignore. Many of my students, despite living in the Dominican Republic, seemed strangely disconnected from their Dominican identity. When I’d ask where they were from, a surprising number would say they were Americans—even though they’d never lived there. Their parents were Dominicans who had chosen to give birth in the U.S. to secure a dual nationality for their children.

Maybe this is when it fully clicked for me...That tension—the push and pull of identity—and it stayed with me.

Yet, the day I found Lucy Garcia roaming in my mind came during a shared reading unit. On a whim, I’d chosen I Love You, Michael Collins by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. My students were learning about space in science, and I wanted a book that connected. What I didn’t expect was how much the epistolary style—the story told through letters—would resonate with me. It reminded me of my own love for writing letters.

I didn’t have a plot yet, but I knew one thing: the story I wrote would be told in letters. From that spark, Lucy Garcia’s voice emerged—a girl navigating identity, belonging, and the messy misunderstandings we often create to fit in. And, like I’ve shared in my query letter, this tension feels particularly true for many in Latin America, where there’s a widespread belief that leaving home for better opportunities abroad equates to success.

I don't know if this belief is true or not. I don't think there will ever be a right answer to that, either. But for the sake of my life experience, this story is a reflection of the questions I’ve seen my students wrestle with and the ones I’ve grappled with myself. Writing it was my way of exploring the answers—and I hope that one day, when others read it, it inspires them to explore their own truths, too.