BELONGING BEYOND BORDERS: How Adult Third Culture Kids Can Cultivate a Sense of Belonging

by Megan C. Norton

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This is a good resource/workbook for any young adult about to go into adulthood, but especially for TCKs. Megan is the daughter of a US diplomat, so she understands the ins and outs of being a TCK. She has taken time to write about what she has learned from experience, but also through research to help adult TCKs thrive in adulthood.

As human beings we all have the desire to belong; to know and be known. Megan explains how finding community and growing roots in that community is the key to belonging. She gives practical examples of how to do this. She acknowledges that before one can really be known by others, they must really know their own identity. She allows for the reader to look past their identity of being a “third culture kid” to explore explore their values and to realize their own core identity. Through this I feel she helps to normalize the confusion of wanting community, but feeling lost in how to get it. Throughout the book, Megan uses the analogy of a garden. This analogy is more then just “growing deeper roots”. She uses the science behind some gardening techniques used by avid gardeners to explain her points. And she does it in a way that the reader does not need to be a gardener to understand. I feel this quote from the end of the book reveals the heart of the book, “Gardens are places where you can bury your troubles, griefs, and pain and grow beautiful, new life. Gardens become (re)generative spaces that offer healing and harmony” (p. 291).