About TCKs
TCKS, or Third Culture Kids, are individuals who have spent a large amount of their childhood in a culture different than that of their parents, and so develop a sense of belonging to both cultures. This includes Missionary Kids, Military Brats, children of business people or diplomats, or any other expat family.
The term was first coined by Dr. Ruth Useem in the 1950’s who observed expatriate life existing in a “third culture” which was distinct from the expats’ passport culture (where the family originally came from) and the host culture (where they lived as foreigners). Rather than being just a mix of those two culture, the third culture had its own customs and values that any expat could relate to. For example, a Brazilian MK living in France can relate to a US American military brat living in Korea through their shared experiences and understanding of the third culture (expat culture) even though they have never lived in the same places as each other.
TCKs often find that they have similar joys and struggles to others who grew up overseas, like lacking a sense of home, having a global perspective or struggling with their identity.
About Us
Heidi Tunberg has been working with TCKs through ReachGlobal for over 20 years and collecting book and resources all that time. She’s always looking for ways to share her resources with the world (check out her TCK Pinterest boards here), and has long dreamed of having a resource website. She loves to snuggle up with her two matching schnauzers and find new books on TCKs.
Ali Jackson joined TCK care in 2013, working with Heidi at ReachGlobal. She loves Heidi’s vision of sharing TCK resources and joined forces with her husband Noah to create this website. She can be often be found cuddling with her rescue cats Walter and Norman, and expanding the resources on this site.