Book Review: NOURISHED by Anna Danforth

Posted on August 3, 2026 by MaDonna

Nourished: Third Culture Kids & the Village They Need

by Anna Danforth

Published: 2026

Genre: Resource

Summary

Anna Danforth has drawn on her experiences as a TCK, the parenting of her own TCKs, and research to unpack the seven positive childhood experiences (PCE) of TCK life. The first five chapters set the backdrop for the TCK, including who is in a TCK’s village and why they matter. She spends a chapter discussing research on children growing up with PCE versus those who do not. Danforth then explores each of the seven PCE, plus a bonus need that she feels is also necessary – multigenerational belonging – in the next eight chapters. The last chapter sums up the book and urges the reader to think and do the next right thing for TCKs in their own lives.

The book’s structure is consistent and easy to follow. First, Danforth guides you through an exercise to examine your timeline of when you had an abundance of PCE and when you lacked it. This exercise is meant to show you that none of us has all seven PCEs at all times, but we can notice when they are lacking. This exercise can help parents and caregivers of TCKs create a timeline of their lives. The second way that the book is consistent is how it tackles each of the PCEs. Each chapter begins with a story that introduces us to the PCE, followed by the subheadings: Why is it Important?; What Happens When Kids Don’t Get It?; Why Are Kids Not Getting It?; and How Do We Do It? At the end of each of the chapters, Danforth offers self-reflection questions along with space to add to your own timeline.

Recommendations

I think this is one of the better TCK parenting books out today. It has experience, but it is backed by research. Anna has taken the time to verify the studies to ensure they are peer-reviewed, which is very important to me. She explains each PCE in story form before breaking it down. I will be honest: I did not agree with all of her parenting suggestions, but that doesn’t mean they were bad. We are different people and can have different opinions on how to go about parenting. But I do agree with all of the PCE, and even the bonus need she adds. If you are a parent or work with TCKs, I highly recommend this book. It is an excellent resource (notice how many tabs I have sticking out).

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

Book Review: PIECES OF PURPLE by Michèle Phoenix

Posted on March 13, 2026 by MaDonna

Pieces of Purple: The Greatness, Grit, and Grace of Growing up MK

by Michèle Phoenix

Genre: Resource

Published: 2025

Summary:

PIECES OF PURPLE is a compilation of work that Michèle has been doing for years. In this book, she notes the patterns she has seen in the lives of the MKs and their stories that they share with her. Giving a nod to her love of theatre, she divides the book into three sections: “Act I: The Fragments that From Us;” “Act II: The Darkness that Daunts Us;” and “Act III: The ‘Ships that Shape Us.” She also includes two interludes and a postlude of stories that illustrate the points and bring humor to the content that only teenage antics can. Michèle offers a fresh look at what an MK is, the issues they face as young people, and the influences they encounter – AND she shares practical ways parents, mentors, counselors, and even adult MKs can use to grow in their identity.

Recommendation:

Michèle Phoenix is an author of several novels, but she has hosted a podcast for several years titled “Pondering Purple.” I have listened to her podcast, read her other books, and followed her on social media. So, when I saw that she was releasing a book last year, I knew I wanted to get my hands on it. I finally got a copy. I have been using this book with clients, and it is also a great resource for starting conversations with my own children. I highly recommend it for anyone working with MKs, their parents, or even adult MKs. There really is something there for everyone to learn and grow from.

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

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

Posted on March 21, 2025 by MaDonna

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

Posted on March 6, 2025 by MaDonna

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

Posted on February 14, 2025 by MaDonna

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

Posted on January 18, 2025 by MaDonna

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

Posted on January 1, 2025 by MaDonna

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: ABRAHAM’S DAUGHTER by Joy Smalley

Posted on October 18, 2024 by MaDonna

ABRAHAM’S DAUGHTER: Healing Trauma from a Childhood in Missions

Written by Joy Smalley

Published: 2023

Genre: Memoir

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

Summary:

Joy Smalley writes a memoir as a missionary kid growing up in Mongolia. Though born in the US, at the age of ten her parents moved her and her siblings to Mongolia. Life was hard and and neglect for ministry was normal. She grew up believing that everyone experienced what she did as a child. As she matured and had children of her own, the chinks of this belief began to break. Her body began to show signs from years of “holding it together.” Her belief was challenged: Was God who He said He was? All this led to believing that life was not worth living. She sought help from a licensed therapist who helped her navigate her childhood story and gave her a name for it: trauma. Within each chapter, Joy bounces from her childhood story to the couch in the therapist’s office gripping the pillow with fringe. By writing in such a way, Joy allows the reader to see a glimpse of her story while allowing an explanation of what was going on emotionally. It is through this storytelling/explanation that we realize that her childhood coping strategies were no longer working. Through storytelling, she is able to show how triggers can set someone off with PTSD or even Complex PTSD, but also the road in which they can take to healing emotionally and spiritually.

Recommendation:

This was a challenging read and could trigger anyone who experienced neglect or childhood trauma in missions. With that said, it is a well-written book. Joy has a gift of words and storytelling that will keep you wanting to turn the pages. As a short-term counselor, I appreciated her framework for writing this memoir. It was a good balance of story and therapy. It is not a “self-help” book but a memoir of her healing journey. I recommend it to any parent of TCKs, educators of TCKs, and counselors/therapists/spiritual directors who work with TCKs. Each person’s story is unique, but reading Joy’s story could give you an idea of what other TCK/MKs may be battling. Or at the least give the challenge to sit and listen to their stories which could help them unravel their own knotted beliefs and emotions.