When her parents’ tourists visas expired, and they were no longer allowed entry into the United States, Elizabeth, an American citizen, persuaded her parents to allow her to stay in Arizona solo.  She was only 15 years-old. Even as she contended with housing and food insecurity, Elizabeth managed to graduate valedictorian of her high school class, before going on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. In this episode, we talk about the values tension in wanting to change the world and needing to pay rent, why the responsibilities she carried never allowed her to “let loose” like her peers, and her decision to share her story in her new memoir, “My Side of the River.”

Follow Elizabeth on instagram @lizzycancu and find her book My Side of the River here.

If you liked this episode, listen to How Travel Empowered Nikki Vargas to Bring Her Life Into Alignment and What Jennifer De Leon Had to Confront to Become the First Writer In Her Family.