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Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant's Journey
Emma Violand-Sánchez knew little English when she arrived in Virginia from Bolivia in the summer of 1961 as a high school senior. In the decades that followed, she would lose a husband in Vietnam, raise two children as a single mother, and become a transformative figure in American public education and in service to immigrants and refugees, advocating for bilingual education and expanding opportunities for immigrant students and their families.
Part testament to the power of suffering and faith and to the challenges women face across the world, Dreams and Shadows is also a meditation on politics, class, the immigrant experience, acculturation as a lifelong process, and the importance of maintaining bicultural identity against the myth of the American "melting pot." On a deeper level, it is also the story of a life lived in service-and about the ways that suffering and joy are contained each within the other, binding us all together across cultures and boundaries.
Part testament to the power of suffering and faith and to the challenges women face across the world, Dreams and Shadows is also a meditation on politics, class, the immigrant experience, acculturation as a lifelong process, and the importance of maintaining bicultural identity against the myth of the American "melting pot." On a deeper level, it is also the story of a life lived in service-and about the ways that suffering and joy are contained each within the other, binding us all together across cultures and boundaries.
342 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 30, 2025
There are many reasons to read Dr. Emma Violand-Sánchez’s Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant’s Journey (Koehler Books, 2015), beautifully co-written with David Bearinger.
First, it’s wonderfully informative on many topics, including: • Insightful accounts of key periods in the social-political histories of her native Boliva and her adopted United States of American since the 1960’s. • Detailed childhood-education research, especially on bi-cultural/language education of immigrants. • The lived experience of an Ed.D. with over forty years in education as a teacher, administrator, school board member, and activist, with remarkable results in the Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia, and as a Fulbright fellow with Bolivian schools and legislators. • A history of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and Dreamer legislation in the US by someone who helped lead those efforts in her home state of Virginia.
But, at a deeper level, this is not just a memoir of life events but a courageously intimate and honest meditation on her life, to understand who she is—someone who will always be an immigrant, even though she visited the US as a teen, graduated from Radford University, and became a US citizen in 1973. She is both a Bolivian and also an American who deeply loves her new country.
She understands that she and all human beings are not isolated individual but persons-in-communities, those communities that form and sustain them and which they never fully leave.
She candidly ponders her closest relationships, especially with her family and the men she has loved. She soberly assesses the reasons for her successes and failures.
She gives thanks for a “great gift” at age 6, a vivid awareness of the poor and those suffering injustice and her desire to ease that suffering them because she knows she’s not separate from them.
Thus, at the deepest level, it is a meditation on the interior life of someone who will always be a bi-cultural immigrant, contrary to the myth of “assimilation” in her beloved new country. And on how her honesty, courage, and determination, with the support of her many beloved communities and her Buddhist practice and Catholic faith, helped her integrate all those parts of herself and spend a life of service for others.
--John Mooney, Ph.D., former assistant county manager for Arlington County, VA
First, it’s wonderfully informative on many topics, including: • Insightful accounts of key periods in the social-political histories of her native Boliva and her adopted United States of American since the 1960’s. • Detailed childhood-education research, especially on bi-cultural/language education of immigrants. • The lived experience of an Ed.D. with over forty years in education as a teacher, administrator, school board member, and activist, with remarkable results in the Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia, and as a Fulbright fellow with Bolivian schools and legislators. • A history of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and Dreamer legislation in the US by someone who helped lead those efforts in her home state of Virginia.
But, at a deeper level, this is not just a memoir of life events but a courageously intimate and honest meditation on her life, to understand who she is—someone who will always be an immigrant, even though she visited the US as a teen, graduated from Radford University, and became a US citizen in 1973. She is both a Bolivian and also an American who deeply loves her new country.
She understands that she and all human beings are not isolated individual but persons-in-communities, those communities that form and sustain them and which they never fully leave.
She candidly ponders her closest relationships, especially with her family and the men she has loved. She soberly assesses the reasons for her successes and failures.
She gives thanks for a “great gift” at age 6, a vivid awareness of the poor and those suffering injustice and her desire to ease that suffering them because she knows she’s not separate from them.
Thus, at the deepest level, it is a meditation on the interior life of someone who will always be a bi-cultural immigrant, contrary to the myth of “assimilation” in her beloved new country. And on how her honesty, courage, and determination, with the support of her many beloved communities and her Buddhist practice and Catholic faith, helped her integrate all those parts of herself and spend a life of service for others.
--John Mooney, Ph.D., former assistant county manager for Arlington County, VA
April 3, 2025
This much needed memoir documents the coming of age, courageous adventures, life struggles and great achievements of one of Arlington’s most influential Latina leaders. Despite working in this community for 15+ years and admiring the Dream Project, Escuela Bolivia, I learned a lot about how other programs, such as GED, Project Family, English Learner services required the vision and resilience of this effective and dedicated leader. Dr. Violand-Sánchez is “a force to be reckoned with”. Her wisdom, big heart and lifelong commitment to service to others is unparalleled and inspiring.
April 28, 2025
This is a powerful book. I learned so much about the immigrant experience, the shortcomings of the education system in meeting immigrants' needs, and the challenges of immigrants/immigrant women in building new lives in the U.S. And Emma's own story is particularly powerful -- so much sorrow and loss met with strength and resilience and a life of service to help other immigrants succeed.
December 14, 2025
DREAMS and SHADOWS is a poignant memoir about a charismatic individual who has spent her life advocating for others. This inspirational account of resiliency and leadership is well worth reading!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews