Archive for News

Expat Happy Hour 125: GRIEF AND GUILT RAISING TCKS WITH RUTH VAN REKEN

Posted on by

If you are raising your children abroad, chances are you’ve heard the term Third Culture Kid. If you haven’t, you will want to pay extra close attention. If you have, this episode has something brand new for you.

Together with today’s special guest Dr. Ruth van Reken, co-author of the book Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, we explore grief, guilt, and identity as well as the pride and absolute joys of raising our children abroad. If you think you’ve heard this all before, wait: we cover new territory.

What You’ll Discover in this Episode:

    • Ruth’s unique path that led her to dedicating her life to supporting families in global transition
    • What most parents get wrong when their kids grieve the loss of their friends or sense of place
    • An alternative model for supporting your own and your children’s grief
    • A dangerous partner to grief that we need to bring out into the open
    • What we should focus on instead of the international aspect of our lives
    • What Ruth would advise parents after decades of supporting parents around the world, and more

Listen in to learn more about what Ruth means when she says, “unpack your bags, plant your trees” and her expert advice on what it takes to enjoy the journey.

Visit Sundae Bean to Listen to the Full Episode

Posted in Interviews/Podcasts, News

Flight Path: Son of Africa to Warrior-Diplomat

Posted on by

flight-pathScott Gration’s memoir, Flight Path: Son of Africa to Warrior-Diplomat, is a fascinating book. A retired U.S. Air Force Major General and the former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Scott is also a Third Culture Kid (TCK).

His TCK experiences began in 1953 when Scott’s parents went to Belgian Congo as missionary teachers—he was eighteen months old. His memoir details going to boarding school at the age of seven, escaping the 1964 Congo rebellion as a refugee, and being inducted into the Masai tribe in Kenya. Scott then recounts some of the difficulties he encountered during his move back to the United States and the transition back into his parent’s culture.

But spending his childhood outside of his parent’s culture was an advantage in his military and diplomatic careers. While in Africa, Scott developed an expanded worldview, a multicultural perspective, interpersonal sensitivity, cross-cultural competence, and cultural intelligence. As you read this insightful memoir, you will gain a fascinating glimpse into both the challenges and benefits of being reared as a third culture kid.

You’ll also read fascinating accounts of developing the Predator drone, conducting the 2003 scud hunt in Iraq, and accompanying Senator Obama to Africa in 2006. Scott painfully describes surviving the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and then he recalls speaking at the 2008 National Democratic Convention and helping to birth South Sudan in 2011. Scott’s reflections at the end of the memoir highlight important lessons he gleaned during his unlikely journey from son of Africa to a warrior and diplomat.

You can get more information about the book at www.scottgration.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/scottgration1.

Posted in News

(New Update) Letters Never Sent: a global nomad’s journey from hurt to healing [Kindle Edition]

Posted on by

Letters Never Sent: a global nomad’s journey from hurt to healing [Kindle Edition]

As a way of examining this ‘other side’ of her story, Ruth’s began to write many letters home such as the girl known as Miss Question Box might have written. This book contains her story from ages six to thirty-nine. Today, in her mid-sixties, renowned internationally for her compassion, knowledge and insight into what it means to be a child growing up among worlds, Van Reken, looks back over her life and adds a fascinating and reflective epilogue to a memoir that has already sold 32,000 copies and has helped and inspired its readers.

Posted in News