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8th out of 25 books
—
6 voters
Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds
Third Culture Kids speaks to the challenges and rewards of a multicultural childhood; the joy of discovery and heartbreaking loss, its effect on maturing and personal identity, and the difficulty in transitioning home.
Paperback, 333 pages
Published
May 25th 2001
by Nicholas Brealey Publishing
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Jan 27, 2008
Joel Simon
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
All expatriates
Shelves:
self-improvement
This is a great book for expats. Although it is focused on children of expats (hence the title), it actually has many good points for the parents, or even adults who don't have kids as I found many of the issues relevant whether or not you encountered them as a kid or not. The writing style is straightforward and easy to understand and I found myself nodding in agreement through almost every story or revelation. The anecdotes that included from other people's actual experiences enrich the book g...more
Gives a good overview of what a TCK is, traits that define them/challenges they face and how they can be handled/overcome. It's not just for TCK's themselves, but parents of such people, those who want to know about TCK's and sponsoring companies.
I started this book several times, and read snippets. One time I started it for a paper, I ended up crying because I could relate to a lot of it, and it made me feel lonely. This time I got through it, I still ended up crying during several parts of it,...more
I started this book several times, and read snippets. One time I started it for a paper, I ended up crying because I could relate to a lot of it, and it made me feel lonely. This time I got through it, I still ended up crying during several parts of it,...more
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This is a book that has been on my "to-read" list for several years and I finally read it during our vacation to Zanzibar.
Third Culture Kids (TCK) is a must-read for parents, extended-family and supporters of kids who grow up in foreign countries or cultures in my opinion. The basic premise of the book is that kids who grow up in a different country (like our kids!) end up learning from both home and host cultures and yet never fully becoming part of either one. TCKs and Adults TCKs (ATCKs) hav...more
Third Culture Kids (TCK) is a must-read for parents, extended-family and supporters of kids who grow up in foreign countries or cultures in my opinion. The basic premise of the book is that kids who grow up in a different country (like our kids!) end up learning from both home and host cultures and yet never fully becoming part of either one. TCKs and Adults TCKs (ATCKs) hav...more
A NEW TERM:
Third Culture Kids (TCKs)=children who spend a significant period of their developmental years in a culture outside their parents' passort culture (2009:xi).
A NEW PHENOMENON?
Does this new term reflect an aspect of more globalized world with fluid identity?
A NEW TERM:
Third Culture Kids (TCKs)=children who spend a significant period of their developmental years in a culture outside their parents' passport culture (2009:xi).
The TCK frequently builds relationships to all the cultures...more
Third Culture Kids (TCKs)=children who spend a significant period of their developmental years in a culture outside their parents' passort culture (2009:xi).
A NEW PHENOMENON?
Does this new term reflect an aspect of more globalized world with fluid identity?
A NEW TERM:
Third Culture Kids (TCKs)=children who spend a significant period of their developmental years in a culture outside their parents' passport culture (2009:xi).
The TCK frequently builds relationships to all the cultures...more
Don't fit into your little white upper class suburb that everyone thinks is totally happening? Identify with a culture that is not your own? Need to get out of town every week? Keep wondering where you will go next? Not making friends because one day you might move on?
If you have lived overseas and immersed yourself in a culture as a child, chances are you are still carrying baggage from those adventures. Sit down, rest, read and you will discover yourself in these pages.
If you have lived overseas and immersed yourself in a culture as a child, chances are you are still carrying baggage from those adventures. Sit down, rest, read and you will discover yourself in these pages.
I started reading this book thinking that I was going to be learning some things to help me understand my children better and I realized that I was also reading about me! A third culture kid is a child who grows up in a society with a culture different than that of their home. The third culture mentioned is that of this particular lifestyle. The interesting thing which the book points out, and that I have found to be true from my own experience, is that these children often have much more in com...more
Wow. I finally get myself. A good read, although a bit repetitive and oddly organized at times. Still, a must read for anyone who has dragged their kids halfway around the world (or across the country) to live in a foreign culture or who has been dragged at some point.
Corrie and I both flipped through this one, hoping to gain some insight on our two girls, who are or will be third culture kids. Growing up for three years in Saudi Arabia makes me and my siblings TCKs too, I guess, though I don't think any of us would consider that to be especially true.
At first, I think Corrie and I were nervous about this book, thinking that our choice to raise our kids overseas might not be the boon we were hoping for. However, after reading sections of this book, it only...more
If you need a comfy sofa, 15 minutes, a stiff drink and an indulgent listener to give justice to the question "Where are you from?", then this is the book for you! Also for people raising cross-cultural children. Highly recommended!
This is the seminal book on cross-cultural kids (and for cross-cultural living, for that matter), and for good reason. It should be required reading for anyone who ever has lived or is living abroad, loves someone who did/does or aspires to do so themselves. Pollock and Van Reken explain not only the benefits and positives coming out of such intercultural experiences, but also the challenges and difficulties that can cause emotional pain. Filled with the stories of many different TCKs (some now...more
This is a profoundly important good for anyone who's lived overseas as a kid and anyone who knows someone like that. Another group that must read it is parents who are moving overseas with their kids. My experience as a TCK (Third Culture Kid) is very foundational for who I am. This book explains why I feel more connected to African-Americans than to White people, why I wish I looked different so people wouldn't assume I am traditional WASPy culture, and why I struggle so much with identity. I h...more
I had to read this book for one of my admin classes, and initially I wasn't too keen on that assignment, because reading books on educational theory is like dying a slow death involving a thousand pointy sticks. But in spite of that, I found this book pretty informative. As an educator overseas, I can totally see the importance of this book. Beyond explaining the concept of a "third culture kid" they provided some good, thoughtful strategies on how to work with those children, and gave me much t...more
A good book to help one relate to their childhood experiences, especially if you spent your life moving around the world growing up.
This book is enormously helpful in defining a largely invisible culture of people. I grew up as a "third culture kid" (not crazy about the name -- surely there's a more elegant moniker to carry forward into adulthood?) and I haven't managed to calibrate all of the moving pieces yet. The book takes those first steps that every culture needs, namely defining who we are, why we are different, and what we grapple with, and then addresses some of the struggles with useful advice. It's very much a 101...more
I prefer the term 'global nomads' to 'third culture kids', but the odd phrasing does not take away from how great the book is. I picked it up thinking there won't be much new I'll learn, but I might as well read it. I was very wrong. Being a 'global nomad' myself, this book brought in a completely different perspective to my life and helped me see events in my own life in a different light. Well researched, well written, captivating and educational. A must read for anyone in a cross-cultural mar...more
Good analysis of the experience of being a Third Culture Kid (someone who spent a significant part of his/her developmental years outside the country of his/her passport) - the pros/cons, good, bad and ugly of it all. The last 1/3 of the book is a sort of "how to raise a TCK" for parents, so I mostly skimmed that, but overall, I found this both true to my own experiences and other TCKs I know. Good food for thought. The writing is a little rough in places (written by academics trying to make it...more
I was advised to read this book. I took my time before buying it. But once I started it, I couldn’t help stopping to read it. I hold the book only with one hand. The second one was too busy either to underline the essentials passages or to catch a tissue box. Because reading the Pollock and Van Reken’s book is like holding a mirror: the authors tell you about your own family history, past and present and even future. The numerous testimonials and anecdotes from TCK strengthen this feeling of emp...more
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...more
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...more
I was referred to this book by my friend's master's thesis, and was duly impressed. This is an interesting topic to me as many friends of mine have grown up overseas or are in the process of beginning careers working overseas with government, NGOs, or missions organizations.
I think this book is a great resource for anyone involved in any way with people raising families within multiple cultures. I'm interested to see if there is any research on the similarities and differences between growing u...more
I think this book is a great resource for anyone involved in any way with people raising families within multiple cultures. I'm interested to see if there is any research on the similarities and differences between growing u...more
At the end of the book found a section asking if the TCKs face the same problems today as they did in the past; i.e. being able to communicate with their family and friends more often now via technology instead of leaving that world behind them. While this was partly the reason why I wanted to read this book, there was enough new information about TCK and CCK that I didn't feel like I wasted my money.
A must have book for anyone who has lived / worked overseas for an extended period of time, not...more
A must have book for anyone who has lived / worked overseas for an extended period of time, not...more
Apr 17, 2011
Borna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who has lived outside of their home country while growing up
Recommended to Borna by:
A friend with a similar background as myself
Shelves:
sociology
In short I loved this book because it showed me what I was feeling and why. I have been feeling lost for a long time since returning back to my home country and I didn't know why. A friend recommended this book and after reading it I found out what and why I was feeling the way I was.
It also helped me ease the transition of returning home and integrating into a mono cultural society.
It also helped me ease the transition of returning home and integrating into a mono cultural society.
I'm not a Third Culture Kid, nor am I planning to raise one, but I still found this quite interesting. I picked it up for some research I'm doing. There's some good insight here on TCK psychology, as well as practical advice on anticipating emotional and developmental issues, navigating transitions, and maximizing success for the kid when they go back to their passport country.
If you live overseas for any period of time with children, you need to read this book. I see so many people doing their kids a huge disservice by not recognizing the impact living overseas has and will have on their kids. I think it can be a wonderful experience for kids if you are aware of the issues, and this book clearly states what they are.
I bought this becasue my two children have parents from two different cultures (UK and Italy) and live in a third (Belgium, which is, itself, a lumping together of two cultures - Walloon and Flemish...).
It's probably of less practical use for them (or me) than I anticipated, as it focuses more on people who regularly change country (military brats, missionary and diplomatic kids, etc), and who therefore have to learn to re-make their world every few years or so, rather than those who, like us,...more
It's probably of less practical use for them (or me) than I anticipated, as it focuses more on people who regularly change country (military brats, missionary and diplomatic kids, etc), and who therefore have to learn to re-make their world every few years or so, rather than those who, like us,...more
Some good nuggets here. Less practically useful for me as we only intend to have one overseas assignment and only for a few years while our children are young - this books seems more geared to families who post to several locations over time. But I will definitely review this before we return to the U.S. to make sure we're handling the transition back as well as we can.
Really liked this. Put in words what the third culture kids have been going through for years. Wish I had read this high school/college time frame and it would have helped in relationships and thinking of what I had gone through instead of figuring it out myself in some mishap kind of way.
I started reading this book with an eye towards the experience of my kids. As I read, I recognized my own experience. This is a fantastic book for children of immigrants. It really helped me come to terms with some of my own experiences and better understand those of my kids.
If you come from a displaced childhood, or if you are in a multi-racial / multi-cultural family -- this book will attempt to document the problems, the benefits and the many challenges encountered while growing up among different cultural worlds. The technique employed is case studies of different kids brought up in different cultural contexts (e.g. immigrant family kids, trans-national family kids, military kids etc ..). While it is not suggesting anything radical -- the book documents a starti...more
Are you a Third Culture Kid? Are you parents to a Third Culture Kid? Are you married to a Third Culture Kid? Is one of your friends a Third Culture Kid? Read this book. It explains TCKs very well and also gives tips. I'm a TCK and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Third culture kids are strictly those whose parents come from one country, yet live in a different country. However, this book broadens the definition so it includes other sorts of kids: adopted kids, multiracial kids, and so on.
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