When Melissa Dalton-Bradford and her husband had 2 toddlers, 4 and 2, they moved as a family to Norway, where they stayed for 5 years. After that they lived in France, the US, France again, Germany, Singapore, and Switzerland. Randall’s (the father) job kept them nomadic, yet in every place they lived they managed to integrate themselves deeply into the local culture, learning not just language and customs (which although that is a Herculean task still only scratches the surface), but beginning to understand how different people approach life, how they view themselves and their place in the larger world.
Given that I’ve been to a smaller extent a global mom myself (only 4 countries for our family, although we rival the Bradfords for number of addresses), this story resonated with me on a really deep level. It was sometimes difficult for me to read, as I swung between groaning at just how hard life can be when you’re starting over in a totally new place (I could really relate to the French bureaucracy part), and feeling stabs of pure jealousy, because no matter how hard it is, there is a real joy to experiencing new cultures and places, and building a home amongst strangers.
Melissa Dalton-Bradford is a thoughtful, intelligent writer, and I think that you can enjoy Global Mom regardless of whether or not your life has included more than its fair share of new tongues and an abundance of cardboard boxes.
Learn more of my thoughts, and enter to win a copy over at 5 Minutes for Mom.
Can I refer this to my sister? I’m sure she’ll love to get a copy of your book.