Author Archives: MaDonna

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About MaDonna

I grew up in mid-west, USA. Moved to mainland China after college hoping to change the world. But, instead, my world changed. I entered TCK-land. I married a German TCK and had three little TCKs of our own. I describe the five of us as the "Fusion Family". We are fused together by cultures and disabilities. All three were born in mainland China. One has a genetic disorder called Cri-du-Chat. And one is adopted. The other is just a typical oldest child. I'm still that mid-west girl who loves a good steak, but with a splash of Asian flair caught eating curry in her tuna salad sandwich.

Book Review: ANNIE’S DAY by Apple Gidley

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ANNIE’S DAY

by Apple Gidley

Genre: historical novel

Published: November 2025

Summary

Annie is an Australian nurse during World War II. We see the hardships of a young girl leaving her home in the bush with a father who doesn’t know how to show her love, and the hardships of a war nurse’s life in the Pacific theatre. Annie travels to far-flung places after the war, trying to find her way in life. We watch as love finds her in unexpected places and with unexpected people. We see the world through the eyes of a woman who is loyal to her friends, fights for what is right, and often speaks before thinking, bringing humor in unexpected places.

Recommendation:

Annie’s Day is more than a historical novel. It is a reflection of Annie’s life as an Australian nurse during World War II and her life afterwards. There are many themes that reflect the views of individuals who have grown up in a multicultural world. From the hardships of war and caring for soldiers from around the world, to moving to various countries that were both exciting and dangerous, to befriending a young Indian woman living in a time of rapid change. Apple Gidley, the author, did a fantastic job of switching from Annie’s present day to her memories of the past and weaving a beautiful story of family, friends, and world events of the time. If you are looking for a fun book for the holiday season, this is the one I’d recommend.

*And for a limited time, Amazon is offering Audible at a great price. You can find details here.

**Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Book Review: Accumulated Lessons in Displacement poems

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ACCUMULATED LESSONS IN DISPLACEMENT poems

by Rachel E. Hicks

Published: 2025

Summary:

Rachel, an ATCK, takes the reader on a journey through her poems to the various places she has lived. She tackles some deep issues of race and the plight of refugees, but she also muses over ordinary meals in a farmhouse in China. The book is divided into two sections: “Bright Sadness, Bitter Joy” and “A Deeper Knowing.” But before the sections begin, she starts with a poem titled “Sojourn,” a title that anyone who has lived outside of their passport country may feel, but Rachel takes a different spin —one that everyone can relate to.

Recommendation:

This collection of poems takes the reader on a global journey where many paradoxes take place. Rachel uses her own experience and her gift of words to portray a sensory scene from the realms of the Himalayas to the chaotic feel of post-racial conflicts in Maryland. She offers a space to stop and reflect on what is going on in the heart and mind — to ask the deeper questions of life and to hold the tension with grace.

*Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

TCK Resource Review: Conversation Cards

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Conversation Cards for moving families

by Laura Kent-Davidson at Wings & Wonder Kids

Summary:

This resource is a set of 14 cards to help start conversations for families planning an upcoming move. Each card is focused on one aspect of transitions. The card explains why this aspect is essential and then offers questions that families can discuss. Laura also offers other ways besides talking to help your third culture kids transition to the new place.

Recommendation:

While these cards are meant for a family preparing to move, I think they would also benefit families who are the Stayers. Many cards deal with the same issues that those who Stay deal with. I feel a parent could also adapt the wording to help children in that kind of transition. The quality of the cards is durable and comes in a nice box that makes it easy and light to pack and take with you. The other positive aspect of these cards is that families only need one set per family, which can be reused repeatedly.

Book Review: FINDING SERENISSIMA by Apple Gidley

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Finding Serenissima

by Apple Gidley

Genre: Novel

Published: 2025

Summary:

Amelia is a recent widow. Her husband was a well-known artist. However, due to the husband’s decline in health, they lived a secluded life in Papua New Guinea for several years. Amelia sells the home, takes a few of her favorite pieces from her husband’s collection, and moves to Italy. A place where there are no memories of them together. A place where she can begin to find herself, the once-forgotten Amelia. Her two daughters believe she has gone mad until they visit and see that this adventure is exactly what their mother needs. Through Amelia’s new friends, she finds herself – and she finds serenity. Though, not in ways she ever expected.

Recommendation

This is not about a TCK, but it is about expat living. We watch a woman grieving her loss, processing her late husband’s mistakes, all the while learning a new language and culture. She makes friends with the “locals” and becomes one of them. Since Apple is a TCK herself, I believe she intentionally adds one character in her novel that is. Amelia has a clever conversation with this TCK, and in just a few sentences, one reads the facts of growing up outside your passport. This TCK says, “That’s the trouble with a nomadic upbringing. One tends to feel at home in many places.” He then shares that his sister had a rough time and hasn’t moved since after university.

If you are looking for a fun book to read this summer or for a long flight, I recommend this book. You can escape to the vineyards of Italy and the many cafes while reading something you understand even if you have never stepped foot into Italy.

*Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Book Review: THE GLOBAL NOMAD’S GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY TRANSITION by Tina L. Quick

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THE GLOBAL NOMAD’S GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY TRANSITION, Second edition

by Tina L. Quick

Published: 2022

Summary

Tina Quick updated her book for TCKs transitioning to university life. She writes that it is also for parents, high school counselors, and university staff who support students. This book is divided into six sections: The Global Nomad/Third Culture Kid Experience, The Transition Experience, Identity Development and Relationship Insights, Realities of College Life, Health and Welfare, and Tips for Parents. It is tailored to read from cover to cover, but also, one can easily focus solely on one topic at a time. Each chapter offers knowledge but also times to go deeper, tips to try, and many graphs and models to help understand the concepts better. Tina offers knowledge about the issues of TCKs while offering tips to help them navigate the unknowns of university life.

Recommendation

I will be honest by saying I ignored the advice that you should never judge a book by its cover. I did judge this book by its cover and did not buy it until after my oldest was in university, but I didn’t really read it until my youngest was about to start university. With that said, I wish I had read it much earlier. It is packed with some really good information, but also practical tips that help not only the parent but the one who is about to launch. It is a thick book, so I believe it would have been daunting for them to pick up and read cover to cover. But, I believe it is a great resource for parents to use to start conversations with their high school kids. It is a great resource for high school counselors helping students leaving for their passport countries, and I do believe it is a must-read for any university student support staff who wants to understand this category of international students who may not look or sound international.

*Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Book Review: BECOMING CLEAR by Claire Collins Friesen

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Becoming Clear

by Claire Collins Friesen

Genre: Memoir (of a TCK)

Published: 2025

Summary:

Claire shares her life as a missionary kid (MK). She grew up in the Philippines but moved to the US in high school when her family decided to leave. During her senior year of high school, she returns to her MK school, where she realizes that things are the same, but she is not. She bounces around from university, Kenya, the Phillippines, university, and then South Korea. Her struggles in searching for her identity come to a head when she moves to Argentina. It is here that she faces many of the same themes that she faced in Filipino culture as a young adult. A dear school friend since grade school in the Philippines challenges her to write her story. And in doing so, Claire finds clarity and understanding in who she really is as a TCK, an introvert, and a high sensitive person.

Recommendations:

Memoirs are difficult to write. The art of not sounding like a journal entry that has details that do not move the story forward is one reason. The other is telling the story without defaming the character of others who are part of your story. It’s tricky. Claire shares the inner thoughts of a TCK/MK, which is something that is brave to do. It helps those who are teaching them, raising them, and anyone thinking about moving overseas with their children. She doesn’t hold back. And for that, I applaud her. But I did find myself skimming pages that dealt with the comings and goings of events, which felt more like a journal entry and did not really move the story forward. This is Claire’s first book. Her descriptions of the beauty of the land and the people to the stark contrast of poverty she witnessed as both a child and an adult leave you with the same questioning she wrestled with.

If you work with MKs or are raising them, then I do recommend this book because it is a more modern memoir that is relevant to many of the issues that MKs deal with today.

*Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Book Reveiw: WORLDS HERE AND THERE by Paul Snider and Donna Kushner

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World Here and There: An Activity Bood for International Transition

Written by Paul Snider and Donna Kushner Designed by Josephine Loh

Published: 2025

Summary

WORLDS HERE AND THERE is an activity book to help individuals and families during their transition. It provides activities and questions for processing – like naming the losses and recalling the memories. It can be used for re-entry to the passport country, for long home assignments, or for a brand new move. It is divided into several parts. One gives you a guide map on how to use the book – with a family, with a team, or individually. Another is the activities for the “Here” and “There” parts of the transition. There is a reflection section that takes the previous processing a little deeper. And ends with some suggestions for what to do next, along with resources that can be helpful as well.

Recommendation

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) in digital form, so I cannot comment on the physical quality of the workbook. But seeing that it is spiralbound, which to me means that pages won’t fall out, is a HUGE positive. I know many spiral-bound books can be drab, but not this one. The pages are colorful and quite pleasant to look at. The design allowed white space for the participants to write or draw in the book. What I really liked about this book is that a family would only need to order ONE book for the family. This cuts the cost which is always a plus. Also, only having to pack one book is super helpful with limited space. And this is a book you would want to take with you to the next place.

I would recommend it for families preparing for a transition, but also for anyone who facilitates transition debriefs for families or groups.

Book Review: STAYING WELL ACTIVITY BOOK by Claire Holmes

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Staying Well Activity Book: Practical Activities to Support Children Aged 7-12 Whose Best Friend is Leaving + Facilitator’s Guide

by Claire Holmes

Genre: Processing Guide for Ages 7-12

Published: 2025

Summary:

Claire Holmes’s new activity book is for younger TCKs or any child who has said goodbye to their best friend. This activity book is the third one on transition that she has written. The first two were from her Moving On Series, Arriving Well and Leaving Well. The structure of this book is similar to the other two books but has activities geared towards the Stayer. Claire uses each letter from the word “TRUST” to help the child “grow [their] TRUST and cope in the best way” (p. 6).

Recommendations:

Claire is a school counselor at an international school in Singapore, where her knowledge of transition and trauma gives her wisdom in writing this activity workbook. Like the other two books, her facilitator’s guide is written like a well-thought-out teacher plan. The instructions are clear, with example questions for discussion, illustrations of each activity page, and alternative ideas to use with the activity. I recommend this to schools, those working with TCKs regularly, and any family who wants to help their child process their best friend leaving. 

*Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate.

New Year’s Day Thoughts – an excerpt from my journal

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Day one of 2025 is here. At midnight, our city had a spectacular display of fireworks. I know this for two reasons. One, I felt our house shake from all the “booms,” which caused our dog to whine and bark up and down the hallway, which woke our twenty-something daughter with disabilities. Second, a friend who lives in a village just across the river posted a video this morning of the show from her balcony. I apprecitated the show better from her point of view.

This morning felt heavy – and not from partying the night before. When you have a child with disabilities, many things end – or rather, they change. Some for the better.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that every morning, I write in my journal and read my Bible – some mornings, I write the happenings of the day before or process something I had read in a book the night before. This morning, I processed what my One Word* would be:

I’ve been thinking about a word for this year, but nothing has come to mind. This morning, Uwe and I slept until 8 a.m. Matthea woke at 8:30 a.m. and has been a demanding tyrant for the past half hour. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had my coffee or sat with my thoughts and Bible – but if this is the outlook for 2025, then I choose HOPE for my word because I am feeling hopeless right now.

  • Hopeless that things will change and get better.
  • Hopeless that my writing will become anything worthy to publish.
  • Hopeless that I’ll make anything of my business.
  • Hopeless that Matthea will ever get to go to a Christian Adult Day program.
  • Hopeless that we will always be stuck in this rut of clutter and chaos.

What a great outlook for the first day of the year. It’s like starting a new book or chapter with marks and tears – making it barely readable, and you just want to throw it in the trash and pick another one off the shelf. But the shelf is bare, and this is the only book on it. It’s yours, a gift from the Lord.

So, hope is needed. Hope to take those tears and repair them, to fill in the pages with resurrection hope…And that can only be done with Christ – the Living Hope.

Hope – in my health, my work, my family, and in the home. I don’t say this flippantly, but because of Christ, there is always hope.

But what does your first day of 2025 look like so far? Do you pick a word for the year? If so, what did you choose?

*One Word – This is choosing one word for the year rather than writing New Year resolutions. The reasoning is that one word is easier to remember and can usually cross into all parts of your life.

**pc: my photo of a candle my oldest gave me a year ago that still makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Book Review: CAREGIVING WITH GRIT AND GRACE by Jessica Ronne

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CAREGIVING WITH GRIT AND GRACE: 100 Days of Hope and Encouragement

by Jessica Ronne

Genre: Devotional

Published: 2024

Summary:

Jessica Ronne is a mother to a child with disabilities, but she is also an advocate for those who find themselves in caregiving roles. She has used her story of being a parent to a child with disabilities but also caring for her first husband as he passed away from a brain tumor to write words of encouragement and hope to others. It is split into four sections using the seasons of the year. She begins with the season of winter because it is a description of how many feel when they first get a diagnosis or realize that life is not going to turn out like they had planned. For many, dreams die. But, as she moves through each season, she points to God who is not only her strength, but also her source of strength. She shares the lessons she learned along the way in each season of life she has been in.

Recommendation:

As a mother to a child with disabilities, I found this to be exactly the kind of book that Jessica advertises it to be. I was encouraged and found comfort in knowing that what I felt at different parenting stages was normal. It is NOT a book for parenting TCKs or living overseas, but I do think that anyone who finds themselves in the throws of parenting will find encouragement amid this devotional. I did give it a 4 out of 5 stars as I would have liked each day to have a reflection question. I find that having a question causes the reader to pause and think about their own life.

*Please note that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.