This autobiographical collection of essays was a joy to read. Adele Barlow is a TCK with Malaysian and Kiwi parents who grew up between Hong Kong and New Zealand. Her search for identity and meaning is a very relatable TCK issue and she writes about it in a fresh way, sharing anecdotes from her moves, relationships and therapy sessions.
I’ve read a lot of stories and essays about TCK identity and sometimes get tired of them but I enjoyed Barlow’s writing style and her candidness. I found myself cheering on her progress and eager to see the conclusions she came to in her self reflection.
This book is rather different from other entries on this site. It’s part autobiographical and part treatise on what it means to belong. Greg Cole’s TCK background of growing up in Indonesia informs his understanding of belonging, since he grew up in a highly mobile community and his third culture-ness makes him different from most “normal” monocultural people. Another large aspect of Cole’s identity that informs his treatise on belonging is his sexual orientation and religion. As a celibate gay Christian, Cole doesn’t fit into the typical stereotypes of the LGBT+or Christian communities. Where does he really belong if he can’t find people who look and think like him? He proposes that similarities are not what tie people to each other, but that we can belong to each other in deeper ways.
I’d recommend this book to MKs and other TCKs who are struggling to “fit in” and find belonging outside the TCK bubble. For those who aren’t Christians, some of the messages about homosexuality may be unwelcome but the main points of the book are not about sexuality or arguing for or against celibacy.
Benito hat eine Riesenreise hinter sich: Vier Jahre lang haben seine Eltern in Jerusalem gearbeitet – eine aufregende Zeit für den kleinen Weltenbummler und seine Geschwister.
Natürlich hat er auch einen dicken Reisekoffer voller Erinnerungen mitgebracht. Einen Teil seiner spannenden, lustigen, ernsten und absolut lehrreichen Geschichten hat seine Mutter schon in dem Buch “Reise nach Jerusalem” niedergeschrieben. Doch nun ist Benito bereits 12 Jahre, viele Souvenirs hat er noch gar nicht ausgepackt und er kann manche Erlebnisse ganz anders einordnen und beschreiben. Von der internationalen Schule, an der fast täglich ein Fest steigt, bis zu den verschiedenen Haustierchen, die man am besten mit Schnapsflaschen jagt – das Leben in Israel gleicht dem kunterbunten Basar in Jerusalem. Es lohnt sich, hineinzutauchen in dieses Gewimmel der unterschiedlichsten Kulturen, Religionen und Völker.
Four years ago, Benito returned from his huge journey: his parents worked in Jerusalem for four years – an exciting time for the little globetrotter and his siblings.
Of course, he also brought a thick suitcase full of memories. His mother wrote down some of his exciting, funny, serious and absolutely instructive stories in the book “Reise nach Jerusalem”. But now Benito is 12 years old, and he can view and describe some experiences differently. From the international school, which has a festival almost every day, to the various pets that are best trapped with liquor bottles – life in Israel is like the colorful bazaar in Jerusalem. It is worth diving into this swarm of different cultures, religions and peoples.
THIS BOOK IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN GERMAN
1951: Auf einem Flugplatz in Nigeria klettert die kleine Ruth in ein Flugzeug, das sie in ein Internat bringen wird – weit, weit weg von Papa und Mama, die als Missionare für Gott arbeiten. Und sie weint. Das ist der Auftakt eines verbissenen Kampfes, mit dem sie einen Schmerz niederzukämpfen versucht, der mit jedem Abschied von ihren Lieben tiefer geht und doch so gar nicht zu einem Gotteskind passen will. Jahre später: Ruth führt ein Bilderbuchleben als Missionarsfrau und Mutter. Dennoch leidet sie unter Depressionen, Wutanfällen und bohrender Kritiksucht, so sehr, dass ihr Glaube eines Tages Bankrott anmeldet. Doch dann: „Irgendwie beugte sich Gott zu mir herunter und sagte freundlich: Ruth, ich habe die ganze Zeit darauf gewartet, dass du endlich aufhörst zu kämpfen. Ich möchte dich in die Vergangenheit zurückführen, um dir zu zeigen, wo du Verletzungen erlebt hast. Ich hielt mich an Christus fest und erlebte im Rückblick all die Gefühle, die ich mir nie eingestanden hatte. Und so schrieb ich sie auf, diese Briefe, die ich niemals schrieb.“ Briefe einer Reise hinter den Schmerz, wo Ruth van Reken Heilung fand. Und eine Hoffnung, die allen Menschen gilt, egal unter welcher Art von Verlust oder Verletzung sie leiden.
This is the German edition of “Letters Never Sent” by Ruth Van Reken
A memoir of a missionary kid processing her experience of growing up abroad, and especially of going to boarding school as a young child, “Letters Never Sent” takes the reader through a process of healing and seeking closeness with God. Written in the form of letters to her parents (the original title is more apt: “Letters I Never Wrote”), this is her story from early childhood through adulthood as the discovery that pain and purpose can co-exist begins to bring comfort & healing.
While unmasking some of the darker sides of missions and especially the family separations that often go along with it, Van Reken still honors the good in her experiences and how much she loves her and parents and loves God. She doesn’t look at her experiences in black and white but still gives helpful advice to those who are on a similar journey towards recovery and to parents of TCKs who don’t want to repeat her parents’ mistakes.
This small autobiography is about a missionary kid who grew up in Swaziland in the mid-1900s. It describes her relationship with her distant father, a doctor, her elementary school days in the local missionary school and going away to boarding school for high school. Her closeness to God is steady throughout her childhood and she talks about how He was with her through it all.
