These do not deal with children with special needs but may help you anticipate some of the complexities you’ll be facing as you prepare for the international move and in raising children in the overseas environment.
Gopnik, A., Paris to the Moon, Random House, New York, New York, 2000.
A personal, good-humored account of one young family living abroad. Much of this was originally published in the New Yorker.
Jehle-Caitcheon, Ngaire, Parenting Abroad, Aletheia Publications, Putnam Valley, New York, 2003.
Written by an expatriate who lived abroad for twenty-six years, this guide provides useful insights on the many and complicated issues that arise as one raises children abroad.
Kalb, Rosalind and Welch, Penelope, Moving Your Family Overseas, Intercultural Press, Inc., Yarmouth, Maine, 1992. http://interculturalpress.com
The authors of this book are Americans who draw on their personal experiences to balance general advice and detailed suggestions as they explore the major issues in raising children in the internationally mobile lifestyle.
McCluskey, Karen C., ed., Notes from a Traveling Childhood, Foreign Service Youth Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1994. www.fsyf.org
This paperback is an anthology of writings by parents, children, educators, researchers, and mental health professionals about the effects of international mobility on children.
Meltzer, Gail and Grandjean, Elaine, The Moving Experience: A Practical Guide to Psychological Survival, Multilingual Matters, Ltd., Cleveland, England, 1989.
This book gives practical suggestions for surviving the psychological stresses and challenges of moving for both local and international moves.
Parker, Elizabeth and Rumrill-Teece, Katharine, Here Today There Tomorrow, A Training Manual for Working with Internationally Mobile Youth, Foreign Service Youth Foundation, Washington, D.C., 2001. www.fsyf.org
This manual is designed to help facilitators provide a framework for mobile teenagers to interact with each other and to deal with relocation and cross-cultural issues that affect their identity and worldview.
Pollack, David C. and Van Reken, Ruth, The Third Culture Kid Experience, Intercultural Press, Inc., Yarmouth, Maine, 1999. http://interculturalpress.com
Based on both research and the personal stories of countless individuals, this book fully explores the various implications of growing up abroad as a "Third Culture Kid." The authors are internationally considered to be leaders and experts in the field of TCK studies.
Seaman, Paul Asbury, Paper Airplanes in the Himalayas – the Unfinished Path Home, Cross Cultural Publications, Inc., South Bend, Indiana, 1997.
An autobiographical account by a "Third Culture Kid" of his journey from his childhood in Pakistan, to a boarding school for missionary kids to the struggle in his adult years to find a sense of belonging. Recounts one man’s struggles to find peace with the "Third Culture Kid" experience.
Taber, Sara M, Of Many Lands, Journal of a Traveling Childhood, Foreign Service Youth Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1997. www.fsyf.org/
A journal for people brought up in foreign countries. It is designed as a learning and exploration tool to help those of many lands in the long process of putting together the stories of their lives. It consists of excerpts that describe experiences the author had at different ages in different countries, followed by prompts or questions designed to evoke the reader’s own life experiences.
Westphal, C., A Family Year Abroad: How to Live Outside the Borders. Great Potential Press. www.giftedbooks.com, 2001.
This paperback book is part narrative of a family’s year abroad and part instruction manual for individuals and families considering spending an extended period outside their country.
