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carlylwbug's review
3.0
I sat with my host mom in the car on our way to pick up my host sister and cousin from their extra lesson, when she brought up the topic of this book. Third Culture Kids. Children who have been raised in cultures different than theirs and their struggles with readjusting to their home culture, host culture, family life, everything.
This book basically describes my oldest host brother in a nutshell. He spent most of his defining years in Cairo at an international school with peers like him and then had to return to the tedious life of immature high school here in Indonesia. My host mom recognizes this and feels sorry for him but can’t entirely sympathize because she spent her entire childhood in Indonesia until she married my host father and was whisked off to see the world, Ukraine, Philippines, Egypt.
To be honest it was hard for me to read this book because 1. It was psychology (very popular among Indonesians but for me it just makes my brain hurt) 2. It was parenting (this book was focused toward the parents of Third Culture Kids).
It made me question whether I wanted to go into the Foreign Service or not. Have to uproot my family every 2-4 years. Is that fair to them? Fair to the children who can’t make friends? Of course my host mother says women should not be diplomats because that means they are *Gasp* single or divorced! Here in Indonesia, weddings and being married is extremely important. The idea of a girl not wanting to get married is taboo. Or the idea of a girl picking a career over marriage.
Overall it wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t very entertaining at the same time. I think I’m not the intended audience for this book, and that’s why it wasn’t entertaining for me. But then most of the books that are my current favorites weren’t probably intended for me to enjoy either. I guess it’s just a matter of taste.
rjvrtiska's review
5.0
An excellent combination of narrative, sociology research, and explanation. The work of the book has expanded over several editions, and is now inclusive of many experiences beyond the traditional Western ex-pat model.
By chapter 3 I was able to identify myself as a cross-cultural kid, though I lived in the same home, surrounded by local family.
Raising 3 TCKs myself, the most important encouragement the books gives is to make sure they recognize themselves as such, and be proactive about voicing the positives and the challenges. This is especially powerful for kids like mine, being raised with peers who are (mostly) based in the host culture, and not experiencing the TCK lifestyle.
There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter that were a helpful base for self-reflection.
By chapter 3 I was able to identify myself as a cross-cultural kid, though I lived in the same home, surrounded by local family.
Raising 3 TCKs myself, the most important encouragement the books gives is to make sure they recognize themselves as such, and be proactive about voicing the positives and the challenges. This is especially powerful for kids like mine, being raised with peers who are (mostly) based in the host culture, and not experiencing the TCK lifestyle.
There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter that were a helpful base for self-reflection.
bethebookworm's review
3.0
Lots of great concepts and food for thought. Even helpful in understanding the impact of the pandemic on our lives. Unfortunately the audiobook had a very full narrator and the book also is overly repetitive. I would still recommend it to anyone with relevant life situation or those like me who are curious about these experiences.
toniobarton's review
4.0
This book was an interesting read. Suggested to me by Carrie Crawford and again by Louis Arndt, this was a great book since many of the students I will be dealing with are TCKs and my own children will have some traits of the TCKs. This helped me think about how to handle our big move to China.
rclairel's review
5.0
Even though only two years of my childhood were spent outside my passport culture, I found myself in the pages of this book. So many underlined paragraphs and sentences describe my behavior and feelings perfectly. I'd recommend this to anyone with a third culture or cross-cultural childhood, even if it seems "too short to count" like I thought mine was. And, of course, for any parents or even friends/significant others of TCKs and adult TCKs.
ricksilva's review
4.0
This book explores the lives and the unique perspectives and challenges of children who grow up internationally. As the parent of a TCK myself, and an international school educator, this was a great resource, especially for its ability to give names and explanations to feelings and experiences that I had been aware of but unable to categorize.
Although there are places in which the book feels like it is stating the obvious, there are also plenty of real insights, some excellent anecdotes, and a good deal of research-backed data to be found within.
This updated edition also extends its ideas to cross-cultural children of other backgrounds, such as children of immigrants and refugees, and international adoptees. It also adds some tributes to co-author David C. Pollock, who passed away in 2004.
With international travel and relocation becoming more common in the 21st Century, this is a classic resource that respects the advantages gained by kids raised across cultures, while acknowledging the difficulties that many of them face, and offering advice for parents, sponsoring organizations, and TCKs themselves.
Although there are places in which the book feels like it is stating the obvious, there are also plenty of real insights, some excellent anecdotes, and a good deal of research-backed data to be found within.
This updated edition also extends its ideas to cross-cultural children of other backgrounds, such as children of immigrants and refugees, and international adoptees. It also adds some tributes to co-author David C. Pollock, who passed away in 2004.
With international travel and relocation becoming more common in the 21st Century, this is a classic resource that respects the advantages gained by kids raised across cultures, while acknowledging the difficulties that many of them face, and offering advice for parents, sponsoring organizations, and TCKs themselves.
erinwatters's review
5.0
This book gave me so many "oh Yeah!" moments. In many ways it was the closest I've come to reading something that really gave insight to what I was feeling about meeting new people when travelling so much.
bmwpalmer's review
4.0
This book really helped me understand what our family has been through all these years of going back and forth between countries. I thought maybe it would have nothing to say to me that I didn't already know from living this life, but I was wrong. I especially appreciated gaining some wisdom about my kids' feelings and needs, both now and in the future.
I do wish I could have gotten my hands on a newer edition, though. All that talk of staying in touch with relatives via fax and photographs was a little awkward.
I do wish I could have gotten my hands on a newer edition, though. All that talk of staying in touch with relatives via fax and photographs was a little awkward.
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