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on April 12, 2015
I was expecting a professionally published book, but it reads like it was self published and so stopped reading it after a few chapters. I'm hoping it will still be useful for adult and child TCK's who share the author's experiences of growing up overseas.
on July 28, 2014
My own experience and the circumstances of my childhood as a military dependent were very different from those of Marilyn Gardner’s childhood but the emotional journey she shares in “Between Worlds” is remarkably similar to my own. When Marilyn describes sipping tea with friends in a Chai shop in Pakistan her words capture perfectly the bittersweet feelings such memories hold for third culture kids and others who have lived abroad. I have never been to Pakistan or known the taste of chai but her story ignites my own journey back almost 40 years to sunny afternoons at a Bratwurst stand in Bitburg, Germany. I laughed out loud reading about how she fought off her nomadic urge to move by rearranging the furniture. She captured the confusion and fear one feels when leaving a place you know and love to go to a place where you don’t know a living soul and have never lived before; a place you have been taught to call “home.” She describes perfectly the frustration third culture kids experience when they feel the need to edit their life story to keep new friends from thinking they are bragging or being snobbish. I could go on but suffice it to say this book moved me and helped me better understand my own nomadic childhood and the role it still plays in who I am today.
on October 28, 2014
Like Gardner, I too spent a significant part of my childhood raised by missionary parents in another part of the world. Although I was raised in a different part of the world than Gardner, I could identify with the stories in her essays. This book is a "must read" for anyone who spent a significant part of their formative years in a different culture, anyone who is raising children in a culture other than their passport culture, or anyone who is interested in what that is like.
on March 3, 2015
Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging by Marilyn Gardner was a very interesting read. The author speaks transparently about her life as a missionary daughter in Egypt and Pakistan and her cross-cultural adjustments, especially when coming to the U.S.A. She tells about her years in a boarding school and the differences in Eastern culture and the West. She is a “third culture kid.”
I thought she described her childhood very well, making you want to go to the places, drink warm chai, and enjoy the group friendships that you have in other countries. She speaks of hellos and many goodbyes, of fitting in and not fitting in at all. She talks about people not believing her when she tells stories—true stories—about her life.
I enjoyed this book immensely. It is well written and shows how most missionary kids really, truly feel about their lives. The author balances her quest for identity and belonging with her God-given blessings. She has a wanderlust borne out of her traveling background, and she gladly shares it with her own children.
I found this a valuable book. If you ever desire to understand third culture kids in a Christian context, this is a good book to read. It’s fun, too! I heartily recommend it to any woman in ministry, as well as military women.
I thought she described her childhood very well, making you want to go to the places, drink warm chai, and enjoy the group friendships that you have in other countries. She speaks of hellos and many goodbyes, of fitting in and not fitting in at all. She talks about people not believing her when she tells stories—true stories—about her life.
I enjoyed this book immensely. It is well written and shows how most missionary kids really, truly feel about their lives. The author balances her quest for identity and belonging with her God-given blessings. She has a wanderlust borne out of her traveling background, and she gladly shares it with her own children.
I found this a valuable book. If you ever desire to understand third culture kids in a Christian context, this is a good book to read. It’s fun, too! I heartily recommend it to any woman in ministry, as well as military women.
on March 21, 2015
I LOVE this book! As a TCK now living overseas again as an adult, I could relate perfectly to almost everything the author says. Even though I've never lived in the particular places where she has, there's just something about the overseas experience that we all share. If I knew Marilyn Gardner personally, I would have called her up several different times to say, "Yes! You nailed it! I know EXACTLY what that's like!" A number of times I was moved to tears as I read, just because her stories resonated so clearly with me. I really think every adult TCK and parent of a TCK should read this. Actually, it would be particularly helpful for teenage TCKs in the process of transitioning back to their passport countries. I wish I had read it back then, myself - it would have made things a little easier, just to have a clearer understanding of what I was going through and to know that I wasn't alone in what I was feeling.
I've recommended this book to my whole family, and several of them have bought it and read it already. I plan to recommend it to expat friends in my community, too. Thank you, Marilyn, for putting into words what we all go through!
I've recommended this book to my whole family, and several of them have bought it and read it already. I plan to recommend it to expat friends in my community, too. Thank you, Marilyn, for putting into words what we all go through!
on August 10, 2014
This book of essays for the globally mobile is full of wonderful observations, good advice, and heart-wrenching stories. It is a must-read for the person who grows up outside their parents' home culture. Organized by issue, it's fast reading, poignant, and thought-provoking. Highly recommended.
on March 15, 2015
Despite being an adult TCK, I'm never quite sure what to expect from TCK literature. What any reader will find in Marilyn's book, though, is honesty and openness about what it means to be a TCK and ATCK--from the joys to the trials. Marilyn does a phenomenal job of artistically capturing the the physical setting of living cross-culturally and communicating the depth and impact that such a setting can have on a human being.
Marilyn roots her essays in her own experience as a TCK, but her vignettes speak truth about what all TCKs experience. Moreover, the book lives up to its title in multiple ways--not only does Marilyn live between worlds, but she seeks to bridge worlds for others.
I would highly recommend this book to readers who live or raise children in a cross-cultural setting--it's easy to read and relatable!
Marilyn roots her essays in her own experience as a TCK, but her vignettes speak truth about what all TCKs experience. Moreover, the book lives up to its title in multiple ways--not only does Marilyn live between worlds, but she seeks to bridge worlds for others.
I would highly recommend this book to readers who live or raise children in a cross-cultural setting--it's easy to read and relatable!
on February 11, 2015
Not only did I find this book entertaining and well written, it was therapeutic! Having lived in 4 different countries and not living currently in my passport country I could relate to so much of what she shared. Marilyn's excellent way of putting into words confusing emotions and why they came about helped me understand some of my own pain and loneliness. I am beyond blessed in my life now in the U.S. but still there is an emptiness and a feeling that something is missing and now I know what and why! This book has helped me move through a grief cycle I didn't know I was in. Delightful read!
on February 18, 2015
I stumbled upon this book by chance. As an expat adult raising my children overseas, I deeply appreciated Marilyn's thoughts and finding our belonging and adjusting back home. I've watched my children struggle and I've struggled myself from time to time. I was greatly encouraged by Marilyn's honest and healthy resolution of who she is as an expat. The tools she gave are very practical and valuable and I immediately emailed them to my kids.
