Book Review~ Third Culture Kids: A Gift to Care For

Prior to moving our family to France, our biggest concern was for the emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being of our children. While we had dreamt for years of working internationally, we also wrestled at length with the impact our decision would have to transplant our kids from their stable and supportive environment to the great international unknown. We knew from my personal experience of growing up in France that there are many benefits to the TCK life, but that there are also a great number of potential hazards as well.

Thankfully, we have not been flying blindly through the process of transitioning our family to this still new life overseas. One of the most helpful resources we have come across is, Third Culture Kids: A Gift to Care For, by Ulrika Ernvik. As a TCK herself who has also parented and worked with TCKs for many years across Asia and Europe, Ernvik thoughtfully integrates her personal experience and expertise into this comprehensive gift of a resource.

Carefully organized into eleven different parts, and fifty-seven bite-sized chapters, Third Culture Kids: A Gift to Care For, provides ample material to read and reexamine along the way of walking alongside TCKs. What sets this book apart from the others I have read is the fact that the material and activities clearly address a wide audience: TCKs themselves, TCK parents, and TCK caregivers. Since I fit all three of those categories, Ernvik’s book has struck to the core of who I am, and what I do, as I continue to learn about the impact growing up overseas has had on my life, as I walk alongside my three TCKs and as I reflect on how to best care for TCKs and their parents within our organization.

We are privileged to live in a day and age in which more and more quality TCK resources are coming out, and Ernvik’s book may just be the most comprehensive book available to date. The beauty of this resource is that it not only speaks to countless aspects of the TCK experience, but each chapter concludes with the following three questions: What can I do as a parent? What can I do as a sending agency? What can I do myself as TCK? These questions gift TCKs, their parents and their organizations with the reflection and action needed to proactively address the benefits and challenges of the TCK life.

A Gift to TCK Parents

TCK parents need resources such as Ernvik’s to give them a framework to best understand what their kids are experiencing. From the benefits of the TCK life, to the difficulty of living through countless transitions and the importance of telling one’s story, Ernvik leaves no stone unturned. Her thorough and practical approach to these subjects is sure to help parents better know how to engage with their TCKs’ unique stories and needs.

A Gift to TCK Caregivers

TCKs and their families need their organizations to step into the space that they cannot fill on their own as they process the multi-layered impact of the TCK experience. Ernvik’s book is loaded with practical ideas for how organization can best accompany their families through the joys and perils of family life overseas. This is a welcome addition to the TCK discussion in a day and age when more and more global organizations are considering how to care well for their families as they serve internationally.

A Gift to TCKs

The reality is that growing up overseas impacts one’s life more deeply that can often be realized in the process of living the TCK life. No matter how well your parents or organization care for you as a TCK, there will undoubtedly be parts of your story that you will only process later in life. If you are an ATCK, Ernvik’s book will help you become better aware of how to process and tell your unique story.

I highly recommend Third Culture Kids: A Gift to Care For as a resource for all TCKs, expat families and organizations with global workers. Whether you are processing your TCK story, living as an expat family or sending families to work to around the globe, this resource will challenge and encourage you in the process.