What do you get when you combine experience, motivation and a vision for creating a resource manual ... a "how to" book if you will?
Expat Women : Confessions
It is literally a virtual "Expat Life for Dummies" with much more information inside than you can imagine.
The brain child of Andrea Martins and Victoria Hepworth, they cover popular topics like leaving family back home, transitioning quickly, intercultural relationships, parenting bilingual children and work-life balance. They also address more difficult issues such as expat infidelity, divorce, alcoholism and reverse culture shock.
Andrea Martins is an Australian who has lived in Jakarta, Indonesia; Mexico City, Mexico; and now lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since co-creating ExpatWomen.com in 2006 with American Jill Lengré, Andrea has inspired thousands of expatriate women online. She has also been a guest speaker to audiences in Houston, Washington, Mexico City, Amsterdam, the Hague, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Marrakech.
Victoria Hepworth is a New Zealander who has lived in Miyazaki, Japan; Shanghai, China; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Gothenburg, Sweden; Mumbai, India; and now lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2004, Victoria founded and helped establish Lifeline Shanghai, a not-for-profit telephone hotline for the expatriate community. Victoria is a trained psychologist.
I found, as I started the book, that instead of being a book that I would have to commit to ... starting and finishing from front to back, that instead I could piece-meal read it. MY KIND OF BOOK!!
I could look through the Table of Contents and find something that struck my fancy ... or I could randomly flip the book open for a surprise tidbit of advice.
Some of my favorite sections include the one on "Starting Your Own Club" (as I realize that we won’t always live in Delhi and I wont always have the amazing support system offered to me here).
Another best of the best? The chapter on "Beware of your friends". This book is one of the FEW places that is honest enough to say that freindships in expat situations are not always positive (jump to page 47!).
Move then to the chapter on money, budgeting and the truth about expat packages .... (another subject that we all chitter chat about, but no one seems to want to discuss at length) as well as a frank discussion about the fact that while some view the expat lifestyle as glamorous, quite often it is similar to the life they left behind.
Want even more "in your face, but we really should talk about this" topics? Divorce, affairs, death. Alcoholism. Aging parents. Leaving precious friends behind, helping teenagers adjust to life away from home, raising bilingual children and the all-important repatriation.
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This book is for any woman who has ever wondered what it is like to live abroad, work abroad or accompany their working partner abroad.
It is also for any woman already living the expat life but having mixed feelings about settling in, rebuilding their identity, understanding changes in their relationships, successfully managing their money and career, raising children far from home or repatriating.
It is ALSO for the woman who thinks they've got this life mastered and figured out ... if only to give a fresh outlook on what topics newbies may be struggling with!
It is also for any woman already living the expat life but having mixed feelings about settling in, rebuilding their identity, understanding changes in their relationships, successfully managing their money and career, raising children far from home or repatriating.
It is ALSO for the woman who thinks they've got this life mastered and figured out ... if only to give a fresh outlook on what topics newbies may be struggling with!
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The authors of this book have a fun launch competition (they are giving away more than US $5,000 in prizes!) going on through the end of May (I know .... I didn't give you much time).
To buy the paperback :: http://www.amazon.com/Expat-Women-Confessions-Real-Life-Questions/dp/0980823609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306553456&sr=8-1
To buy the Kindle version :: http://www.amazon.com/Expat-Women-Confessions-Real-Life-ebook/dp/B004YL2TKK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1306553456&sr=8-3
From their website ::
Advance Praise
"What a great book! For the first time, a real-life manual that will reassure every expat woman that she is not alone in her unspoken feelings and questions. I loved it!"
Ruth E. Van Reken, Co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds
"A must for anyone who is, has been or will be an expat!"
Peggy Love, GMS, CERP, President, FIGT (Families in Global Transition)
"A terrific book! Real-life examples of the challenges expat women face, with insightful and practical advice, this should be on the must-read list for anyone involved with expatriate administration."
Andrea David, Head of Global Mobility, Bloomberg LP
