The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition Kindle Edition

Reviewed by Katrin Volt for George Simons Intl, at diversophy.com

“I feel like a fish out of water.” Tina L Quick’s handbook provides practical advice and guidance for young third culture kids (TCKs) and global nomads moving to their passport countries for university studies. The author, a third culture kid herself, is an expert in the field and this professionalism shines through in the book. The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition deals with the issues third culture kids in particular face and guides them towards a smooth transition.

The book is filled with informative advice, tips and observations, which are brought to life with the authors’ personal stories as well as those from other third culture kids. There are also exercises that help process and think about the issues in more depth. Each chapter ends with “what you should know,“ an easy reference, though it may feel repetitive for some readers, and a list of further resources, which gives additional information on the topics covered in the chapter.

A sense of belonging everywhere and nowhere is how third culture kids usually identify their place in the world. The feelings of isolation, restlessness, not fitting in, their search for identity, etc. are what will face them in their transition. As Quick says, life is full of change. They have had very mobile lives in a cross-cultural world – the two realities of being a third culture kid. On the upside, such individuals have developed an array of skills, e.g. being skilful observers of and mediators between cultures. On the downside, they may develop feelings of loneliness and unresolved questions of identity. Everything can be overwhelming, for instance, difficulty relating to others, financial responsibilities, classroom seating, coursework requirements, etc.

In the initial chapters, Quick describes Dr Pollock’s five stages of the transition process (involvement, leaving, transition, entering, reinvolvement) that everyone goes through. The rest of the book looks at issues related to relationships, identity questions, including a TCK Identity Development Model, leisure time, campus life, etc. There is also a chapter for parents, so the book is useful for the whole family. The reader does not need to read the chapters in sequence but can dip in according to interest and need. What I liked most about the book is its simple language, useful topics, engaging approach and stories. However, note that the content and style are US style, making it especially relevant for US audiences.

This book is most helpful for third culture kids repatriating to their passport countries for university but it is also useful for other foreign students. It is also essential reading for their parents and those having to work with third culture kids and foreign students, i.e., educators, advisors, therapists, HR professionals, interculturalists, communication specialists.

I wish this book was available when I, a Global Nomad, returned to my passport country and entered college! It fills an important niche that has been vacant for too long. I love Tina's style of writing for she writes clearly and gives wonderful examples for the Global Nomad making this transition. I had a difficult time putting down her book. She is most knowledgeable and has certainly done her research. The book is filled with interviews of Global Nomads and those who work or study them. I think Tina went the second mile with her writing as she ends each chapter with the key points of that chapter and where one might find more materials on that topic, etc. It is not a book filled with philosophy and research studies, but a most practical book that a university bound student can put into their backpack and understand what is going on within them. The chapter on hidden grief is the most important one in the entire book. It is the perfect companion book to David Pollock and Ruth VanReken's book "Third Culture Kids:Growing Up Among Worlds". In my role as a mental health counselor, this book will be high on my referral list to all Global Nomads and their parents.

This book is very teen-friendly in format. It pares down the essential, relevant content from Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, Revised Edition (by David C. Pollock & Ruth E. Van Reken) and delivers it into digestible, usable, quickly accessible chunks. Furthermore, it is so user-friendly that I was able to use it to quickly create a day-long seminar for my graduating students. PLEASE, walk students through the first few chapters near the START of their Senior year (or the end of their Junior year). This will 1) force them to actually read it even though they have so many tasks at hand and 2) allow them the time to work through the steps in a knowledgeable way. They are going to be experiencing the truths of the book anyway. You might as well enable them to feel less like a freak during the process and open dialogue amongst his/her peers and yourself.