My Temporary Home

My Temporary Home is a heartfelt story about Lily, a young girl placed in foster care after being removed from her unstable home. Through Lily’s eyes, readers witness the confusion, loneliness, and emotional weight that children in the foster system often carry. Though she is now in a safer environment, Lily must learn to navigate the unfamiliar silence of stability and begin her journey toward healing. The book is a tender, emotionally honest exploration of trauma, resilience, and the search for belonging—and it's inspired by my own experiences growing up in foster care in the Bronx. The message behind My Temporary Home is urgently relevant today. With so many children still caught in cycles of trauma, neglect, and displacement, this story gives voice to their silent struggles.

In a world that often overlooks the emotional lives of foster youth, this book reminds us that behind every case file is a child just trying to feel safe, seen, and loved. It encourages readers—parents, educators, social workers, and kids—to have deeper empathy and more honest conversations about healing and home. Rodriguez wrote My Temporary Home not just for the children still caught in the system, but also for the adults who grew up in it and never got the chance to tell their stories. It’s a reflection of who she is, where she’s been, and the love she is determined to pour into the world—one page, one person, one purpose at a time.