Are you a Third Culture Kid?

Yes, I am a Third Culture Kid.  

To be classified as a third-culture kid means I was raised for a significant portion of my developmental years outside my parent's passport culture.  

 

For me, this is definitely *not* a negative label, but much like a welcomed diagnosis from the doctor, that has provided me with a starting point to help me better understand the confusion and difficulty I experienced decades, after permanently moving back to my passport country.  Most importantly, it has brought me great comfort in knowing I am not alone.

When I moved to the United States in 1985, there was zero support for TCKs like me, except for this one book that was published years later.  I was later gifted a first-edition copy of the book “Third Culture Kid” (TCK) by one of my older sisters, several years after we had been living in the United States.  At the time I was unable to process the full impact of this information, probably because I was still too immature and busy developing masquerading habits to survive the transition.

Anyhow, not too long ago, almost three decades later, I ended up purchasing an audio version of the newest revised edition. This book includes even more updated information on cross-cultural living in our modern world today. I chose to read this book in hopes that it might help me unpack some of that unacknowledged childhood loss and unresolved grief I had been carrying around most of my adult life, and I wasn’t wrong.  

I can wholeheartedly say this newer revised edition is just as much a powerhouse as that first edition. This time around, however, I was also in a better place to receive and apply the information it offered. It was also fascinating to see how third-cultural living has evolved over the past 35 years. I highly recommend reading this book if you directly experienced something similar or if you know someone who did. Gratefully this book has led me to other ATCK resources that are proving to be incredibly helpful and valuable in my personal growth today.

 

What about you my dear sojourner. Are you a Third Culture Kid?

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I pray you found what you needed today. Please leave a comment below, I would love to continue this conversation and understand how it might have been helpful for you.

 

May God Bless You,

Leslie