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.
What Makes Aussie Kids Tick a thorough and insightful overview of what to expect leaving Australia as a missionary family with kids. this book walks you step-by-step through the process preparing to leave, landing, and re-stabilizing as a family. It identifies the potential difficulties in the areas of emotions, logistics and family dynamics, and provides practical advice on navigating them. Of special interest is the discussion of Australian culture and how Australian MKs tend to interact with their “home” culture.
This book’s focus on the universal principles for navigating cross-cultural transitions as a family have allowed it to age well, despite the rapid changes in missions in the decades since its publishing. It is a good introduction to navigating the missionary life, especially from an Australian background, and would be most useful for families entering more traditional missions located in non-Western countries, and those in administration supporting them.
The contents include:
- It’s Time to Get Ready
- It’s Time to Go
- It’s Time to Work
- It’s Time to be a Family
- It’s Time to Choose (Exploring schooling options)
- It’s time to Part
- It’s Time to go to School
- It’s Time for Holidays
- It’s Time for Visitors
- It’s Time for Identification
- It’s Time to Leave
- It’s Time to Return
- It’s Time to Help (How the sending church can help their missionaries)
- It’s Time to Evaluate
Out of stock in online stores as of July 2022.
Parents on the Move is a concise and practical source of advice for parents TCKs. It focuses on strategies for successful family relocation and family health, through a unique lens of the Christian faith. In it you will find real-life experiences combined with a systematic break-down of the unique challenges of moving internationally with young ones.
This book would be best for younger families encountering an international move for the first time. It could also benefit HR staff in organizations that regularly deploy internationally to set up their employees for success at their new assignments. It is not a dense read, and can be easily skimmed for the information most pertinent to one’s own situation.
The appendices provide workbook sheets to help you brainstorm in preparation for your family’s move, along the lines the book has presented. They are perhaps most useful for making sure you articulate your expectations and think through all your options before your move.
Chapters:
- Strategic Priorities
- Seven Levels of Moving
- Checking Out the Giants (Schools, Neighborhood and Home, Social Network)
- The ACE Card (What to look for in when assessing potential schools)
- The Home Schooling Option
- Your Support Team – Do you have one?
- Grandmothers as Communication Central
- Expecting and Delivering a Baby Abroad
- Heading Home – Heading Out Again
Appendices:
- Family Relocation Listening Exercises
- Relocation Level Questionnaire
- Sample School Visit Schedule
- School Visit Strengths and Weaknesses Chart
- ACE Checklist
- Support team Contact Information
“TCKs: A Gift To Care For” is an excellent addition to comprehensive books about TCKs. I would say this differs from Pollock and Van Reken’s classic “Third Culture Kids” book in that there is a focus on developmental stages, child psychology and it includes many many practical activities for parents to do with their children. These activities help children to integrate experiences and thoughts into their bodies for a holistic approach to TCK care.
This book is on the larger side (405 pages) which may seem daunting, but it’s used best when you pick and choose the chapters that are relevant to you and your kids. You don’t need to read the whole thing at once but look for the information and activities that are best suited to your current needs. And then open the book again later when you want something else!
Included in the chapters sections are:
- A Gift to Care For
- Transitions and Emotions
- Identity and Beliefs
- Relationships and Globalization
- Stress and Structure
- Grief and Joy
- Developmental and Long-term Goals
- Protection and Boundaries
- Debriefing and Storytelling
- The Power of Getting Together
- What Can We Do?
Available in English and Swedish now with Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish coming soon.
This book explores what life is like as a TCK who has left their family of origin and is now on their own, still in the process of “adulting.” The challenges they face can be significantly different than those of Adult TCKs, and it is important for them and those in their lives to be able to address them appropriately.
While it doesn’t replace the classic Pollock and Van Reken TCK book, its narrower focus will help you understand the specific needs of Third Culture Teens. It’s very readable, including some of the author’s own personal experiences, but it also draws from important literature on TCKs.
The following sections are included:
- Third Culture Kid & The Third Culture Teen
- The Issues We Face
- The Life We Are Living
- The Life We Will Live
- Conclusion & Additional Resources
This is a wonderful little workbook for children preparing to move. It has tons of space to write and cut out pictures. It’s great for recording everything about the place you live and the place you’re going to move to, and has sections on addressing worries, saying goodbye to friends, saying good riddance to things they will leave behind, and goodbye to the things they’re going to miss. Includes a bunch of fun stickers at the end!
Reading level: age 6-10 years
