Learning about the experiences of Adult TCKs
When my book Misunderstood was published, I was immediately asked if/when I would write another book. I was flustered by this question — I had nothing left to write! I’d already put it all in those pages. I couldn’t imagine writing another book. Yet within a year a new idea started to form: a guidebook for Adult TCKs, exploring landmarks, showing that they are not alone in their struggles, and sharing strategies for moving forward in healthy ways.
This idea came about as I met with more and more Adult TCKs as my work expanded and took me around the globe, and I realised that I had answers to many of the questions they had. That experiences they felt were awkward or strange were in fact very common among Adult TCKs worldwide — something I knew from my vantage point, but they did not.
In 2019 I started making plans for this book, outlining what I thought I wanted it to cover and beginning a series of interviews with Adult TCKs around the world. I also created a survey to gauge interest on the topics I thought were important, to see if other Adult TCKs agreed. Then my life fell apart. In the middle of 2019 I suffered a Grade 2 concussion with nerve damage, which led to post-concussion syndrome. I could not read, write, or research anymore. I could not concentrate without getting blinding headaches. Less than a year later, I was stranded in Australia due to pandemic border closures — unable to return to my home in Beijing. I lost my business, and my husband and I remain separated on different continents dealing with immigration paperwork.
As I dealt with these personal circumstances, survey responses continued to trickle in. By the time I was ready to look at it in 2022, there were over 800 responses. Not only that, but what I originally intended as a simple survey to give me pointers of what direction to head had collected some really interested and, I believe, important information about what Adult TCKs are experiencing.
I also completed 120 one-on-one interviews with Adult TCKs from a wide range of backgrounds. I am so grateful to everyone who shared their stories with me! I am also grateful for the patience of those who have supported me and waited for this project to move forward. I am finally in a place with my mental and physical health to dive into this project for real.
I spent the first few months of 2024 writing what I called my ‘warm up book’ — a short book on the impact of change and transition for all people, not just the globally mobile. Now that I’m in the swing of writing again, I am setting my sights on my Adult TCK guidebook.
In the mean time, I will be sharing insights from the survey of 800 Adult TCKs I ran, looking at what topics they considered important and what had impacted their lives as adults who experienced global mobility as children.
I was honoured to work with a great research intern recently, and during her time with me she analysed some of the original data, pulled out important statistics, and put them together in a blog post. While I provided oversight and guidance, I was really impressed with her work and am excited to share it with you in the next blog post in this series! So stay tuned for her insights on mental health among Adult TCKs.
Posts in this series:
