The true story of Maggie Comer, an illiterate Southern Black woman who moves North to escape poverty and sexual and physical abuse. Unable to get the educuation she desperately desires, Maggie vows that her children will be educated. Working as a domestic, she raises five children who end up earning a total of thirteen college degrees between them.

Told first in Maggie's own moving words, and then through those of her son, James, Maggie's American Dream celebrates the heroic efforts of African-American individuals and families who struggle for success despite powerful, social, economic, and educational hardships. Black Enterprise Magazine proclaim, 'This touching and funny book issues a powerful challenge to us all to make our children's lives more meaningful. Dare to dream Maggie's American Dream for your family.'