25 Books for a Successful Expat Experience

Are you and your family considering an international relocation? Or are you already living as expats?

Then you'll find helpful inspiration right here!

We've teamed up with interculturalist and expat specialist Kathy Borys Siddiqui to make this list of 25 great books for expats and their families.

Kathy has been on the move since the age of eight, lived on two continents, in four countries and made herself at home in eight cities. She has been an immigrant, a cross-cultural kid, a re-pat and currently, she is an international "love-pat." We are very grateful to Kathy for joining this blog project and sharing her life-long international experience and wide-ranging insight on all facets of expat life!

Also, many thanks to all of you in our network who recommended your favorite expat books.

At the top of the blog post you'll see the 25 books that we believe are the best ones to start with.

No two expat experiences are the same. Singles, couples or families with toddlers, tweens or teens? Global jetsetters or a family on its first assignment far from home? Strong global skills or no intercultural experience? Wherever you are in your expat life, there are books for you!

The 25 books are divided into the following topics:

• How to have a successful relocation
• Relocating as a couple and life as an expat partner
• Long-distance family relationships
• Living across cultures
• Books for expat kids
• Third culture kids (TKCs) and how to best support them
• Books for third culture teens and adult TCKs
• Coming home
• Personal expat stories

If you have an appetite to keep on reading, you'll find a wider range of books at the bottom of the blog post that have also been recommended to us.

Our Danish-speaking readers can find a select range of expat books in Danish at the bottom of the blog post.

Thriving Abroad: The definitive guide to professional and personal relocation success

By Louise Wiles and Evelyn Simpson, Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2017.

"Thriving Abroad" focuses on both the expat employees as well as their partners. In the book, the authors use a three-part framework to guide and design personal and professional successful transitions. 

The first part focuses on the beginnings, the benefits of international experiences as well as the challenges. Both private and professional spheres of global life are discussed. 

The second part of the book is dedicated to the practical as well as emotional side of international employees moving abroad. The authors take a closer look at what is involved in preparing to relocate, and what emotions may accompany the expats and their family members. The stories from expats who have already relocated are useful and insightful for future international employees and their employers. 

The third and final part of the book covers post-arrival. This is a critical period for all involved in the relocation. Adapting and finding balance, networks, and communities are crucial for the employee as well as their family.

"Thriving Abroad" asks important, tough questions. This approach is valuable especially for those embarking on an expat journey for the first time.

Both of the book's authors are transition coaches and experienced expatriates who have relocated as employees, expat partners and parents.

A Great Move: Surviving and Thriving in Your Expat Assignment

By Katia Vlachos, LID Publishing, 2018.

Katia Vlachos, the author of "A Great Move: Surviving and Thriving in Your Expat Experience", writes about the ups and downs of expat life and cross-cultural adaptation. Although many see the great benefits of working and living abroad, Vlachos also points out the challenges families and specifically spouses may face, such as the spouse having to cope with childcare and dealing with culture shock on their own.

The book contains questionnaires and exercises that readers can fill out to assess how well they are equipped to take on the living abroad opportunity. Readers will also find extensive research and stories of expat couples and families from diverse backgrounds who have embarked on an international journey.

The themes Katia Vlachos covers in her book range from: being ready to move and where to move, preparing to relocate, making the move a reality and coping with change, and finally settling in and creating a new home. 

Katia Vlachos is an expat, a writer, and a coach. Her work is focused on cross-cultural adaptation, as well as the ups and downs of expatriate life. 

Moving Abroad with Your Health and Sanity: A Practical Guide for Expats, Nomads, and Travelers Looking for Well-Being in Their Adventures

By Kirsten Pontius, Self-published, 2022.

If you are preparing to move abroad, it is important to remember that besides all the practicalities, you and your family's well-being plays into a successful relocation.

Integrative Health Coach Kirsten Pontius helps families, individuals, and organizations maintain well-being while transitioning abroad. This book is full of practical advice, based on Kirsten's own experiences, her work with expat clients and global organizations. She introduces behavioral science techniques for mindfulness, stress reduction, self-care, and nutrition. 

Over 13 years of living and traveling abroad has given Kirsten Pontius the experience to assist internationals on their journeys. Kirsten looks at health through the lens of a travel lifestyle.

Whose Career – Yours, Mine or Ours

By Yvonne Quahe, Springtime Books, 2021.

Moving abroad when you are a dual career couple can be tricky. Often, one of the spouses puts their career on the back burner to support the other. The big question – when will it be my turn? 

Let's be honest, living a globally mobile life with two careers, and a family is not easy. To say the least. "Whose Career – Yours, Mine or Ours" covers the challenges and pain points dual career couples face and how to avoid them. The author offers a framework, CARE Code (Clarify, Assess, Refocus, Explore), for employees, dual career couples, and HR professionals as a guide to facing the complexities of living a Dual Career Global Life. 

This book is filled with case studies, exercises, as well as research that guides readers to make the right decisions regarding career relocation. 

Yvonne Quahe is a sociologist, HR professional, and coach. She states that this book is about encouraging Dual Career Couples to have meaningful discussions about the type of life they want and to be mindful of both careers. She takes on the topic of managing the dilemmas that come with being a Dual Career Couple and having a successful international move.

Holding the Fort Abroad: Beyond Surviving – living and parenting abroad with a partner who works away from home

By Rhoda Bangerter, Summertime Publishing, 2021.

Starting a new chapter abroad is no easy task, but living and parenting abroad with a partner who works away from home sounds more than challenging.

Rhoda Bangerter covers this important topic in her book. Of course, it is exciting to support your partner when they get a great opportunity to work in another country. However, what happens when you suddenly find yourself solo-parenting and living life abroad more alone than together? 

Many questions come up: How can we make this work while apart? Did I sign up for this type of lifestyle? How can I cope doing it all alone? 

Rhoda Bangerter is a certified Life Coach. She helps expat moms focus and work on their personal projects, to cope with an overload of tasks and emotions when living with a travelling partner as well as parenting and thriving as a couple, reconnecting, and having smoother transitions when a travelling partner returns home.

Being a Distance Son or Daughter: A Book for ALL Generations

By Helen Ellis, Distance Families Publishing, 2022.

This is the second part of a three-book series written by Helen Ellis about long-distance family relations. 

Living life abroad also makes us consider what it takes to keep our relationships with family members. How can we stay connected with our family as a son or daughter when we live abroad? As an anthropologist and founder of DistanceFamilies.com, Helen Ellis answers this question and others.

In her book, Helen Ellis offers resources, strategies for better communication, and ways to connect on a deeper level with loved ones. She presents tips for staying connected with family, covers pre-departure, communication, nurturing relationships, planning visits, long-distance care, and declining parents. 

The book also offers perspectives and insights that those living abroad and those living in their home countries may not have considered. 

This is a book for anyone thinking of moving overseas, sons and daughters living abroad, grandparents of expat kids, grandchildren, as well as all other family members. The more we know, the more we understand and empathize with one another. 

Being A Distance Grandparent: A Book for All Generations

By Helen Ellis, Summertime Publishing, 2021.

What is it like to be a long-distance grandparent? This book answers this as well as other questions about the struggles and successes of distance grandparents.

One of the core messages is that you are not alone. The book presents answers to the How, What, Why questions, tips, inspiring and moving stories, as well as advice on how to embrace the changing distance family role. 

Helen Ellis brings a different perspective in her book, for all the Distance Sons and Daughters, a glimpse of what their parents go through and how to cope. 

Helen Ellis is a New Zealand researcher, writer, anthropologist, and a veteran of Distance Grandparenting. Three of her four children and five of her six grandchildren live 16 to 30 flight hours away in America, England, and Scotland.

This Messy Mobile Life: How a Mola Can Help Globally Mobile Families Create a Life by Design

By Mariam N. Ottimofiore, Springtime Books, 2019.

This is a book for expat multilingual families, adult TCKs, and all the professionals working with them.

Mariam Ottimofiore uses the analogy of a MOLA – in South America it is a shirt made from layers of patterns and cloth intricately stitched together. It is worn with pride, as it represents who you are.

The author uses the MOLA in global family life as a way to represent living between cultures, countries, languages, nationalities, identities, and homes, for those who find their story hard to articulate. The book uses personal stories and a survey to give solid advice about living life as an international family.

Born in Pakistan, Mariam Ottimofiore is a writer, researcher and expat family specialist. She grew up and has lived in nine countries. Her husband is German/Italian and together they have raised their children in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions

By Batja Mesquita, W. W. Norton & Company, 2022.

"Between Us" is a book that asks readers to look at emotions from an outside-in perspective and to reconsider what emotions do for and in our relationships.

By looking at emotions at school, work, and home – from outside-in – we can reflect on how our emotions will be understood, how they affect us and others. By understanding differences in emotions, we can find ways to understand one another, empathize, and see one another as humans. The author uses psychological stories and stories from individuals across the globe in her book. 

Are emotions a product of our culture? How come in one culture being direct, honest, and speaking your mind is seen as a sign of friendship, maturity, and true connection – but in a different cultural setting these virtues could be seen as offensive, hurtful, and criticism?

The author, Batja Mesquita, is a professor of psychology and the director of the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium. She studies the role of culture in emotions, and of emotions in culture and society.

The Globalisation of Love

By Wendy Williams, Self-published, 2012.

Wendy Willams has written a book about multicultural romance and marriage. We live in a global world where people are falling in love, living, and raising families as multicultural couples. 

How can we make multicultural relationships work? How do we come to terms with cultural differences? 

This is a useful read for those who are in mixed relationships, entering a mixed relationship, or are already married. The book is also helpful to family members. How can friends, family, and parents support and cope with their child leaving to live abroad with their partner/loved one? 

The book is based on interviews with multicultural couples. Wendy Williams covers topics such as: multicultural weddings, religious conflicts, challenges with communicating, raising kids in a multicultural family, language, and race. 

The author of "Globalisation of Love" has lived in six countries and worked internationally for 18 years. Wendy is Canadian, married to an Austrian and residing in Austria with her family. 

The Curious Traveler: See the world. Change your life.

By David Livermore, Cultural Intelligence Center, LLC, 2020.

A key word in David Livermore's book is 'curiosity.' 

By practicing curiosity, we can learn about people and their cultures, and we can connect. When we travel, curiosity is what makes us try new foods, ask questions that start with Why and How come? Curiosity allows us to get to know cultural norms and, of course, to travel. 

The author offers practical advice and explores five commonly faced cultural dilemmas. In the appendix, readers can find ten cultural value dimensions presented in a helpful way.

This book is for all the travelers out there!

David Livermore is a founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center in Michigan, Research Professor at Questrom's School of Business at Boston University, and a Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Me and My Big Move Workbook

By M. Huijsmans and L. van den Elshout, Sethellite LLC, 2020.

"Me and My Big Move Workbook" is made up of phases that families encounter when moving.

The emphasis of the workbook is on growth mindset, creativity, and communication. The relocation process takes time and energy but using this workbook as a tool for kids allows them to be in touch with their emotions and to practice their resilience skills through activities and journal pages. 

"Me and My Big Move Workbook" has been designed by experts around the globe, teachers, parent coaches, mindfulness experts, parents, and numerous little internationals. 

The workbook is an excellent tool for enhancing a positive mindset and building resilience through all the relocation stages, before, during, settling in, and after. A great, fun, interactive tool for the whole family. 

"Me and My Big Move Workbook" is suitable for kids aged 5–12.

I Dream of Popo

By Livia Blackburne (author) and Julia Kuo (illustrator), Roaring Brook Press, 2021.

A touching visual story about a young girl who emigrates together with her parents from Taiwan to America leaving her beloved grandmother, Popo. The story touches upon themes of family, love, longing, and loss. The book is from a child immigrant perspective and therefore relatable to kids that are going through this process of being separated from grandparents.

New York Times bestselling author Livia Blackburne wrote her first novel while she was a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she conducted research on the neuroscience of reading acquisition in children. Upon graduation, she switched to writing full time.

Julia Kuo is a Taiwanese American illustrator who has worked with the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Google. She has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis.

The book is suitable for children aged 3–8.

The Boy Who Weaves the World

By Marci Renée (author) and Layken Davey (illustrator), The Cultural Story-Weaver, 2021.

If you would like your kids to expand their horizons, celebrate differences instead of letting them divide us, and fall in love with various countries, cultures, as well as languages, this is the picture book for you.

Pierre, the main character embarks on an interactive adventure around the world. The book is filled with colorful illustrations, interactive activities, and a pronunciation guide for parents and teachers.

The author, Marci Renée is a global nomad who has traveled to more than 30 countries and has lived in the United States, France, Morocco, and Spain. The book's illustrator, Layken Davey, was born in South Africa and grew up in Morocco. She loves stories.

The book is suitable for kids aged 4–10.

Home, James

By Emily Steele Jackson, Self-published (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform), 2018.

James is a thirteen-year-old boy who is less than thrilled about moving back "home" to Montana in the US. Although he is American, he has grown up in China, and all he loves and knows is there. Moving to America is as if he is moving to a foreign country. He struggles with fitting in, finding himself and new friends.

A good read for kids in middle school facing change, moving, and/or repatriation. Being the one who is the outsider looking in is tough. This book addresses the emotions, challenges, and benefits kids and their parents face in such a situation. It's a book for the whole family.

Emily Steele Jackson wrote "Home, James" as her family was coming to the end of living overseas for nearly twelve years and they started to go through the emotional rollercoaster of transition.

The book is suitable for kids aged 8–13.

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds

By David C. Pollock, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock, Nicholas Brealey, 3rd edition, 2017.

This is the TCK (Third Culture Kids) Bible, originally written by Ruth E. Van Reken and David C. Pollock. With the 3rd edition of the ground-breaking, global classic, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock, son of the late original co-author, David C. Pollock, have significantly updated the book.

This updated version advises parents and others how to support TCKs as they navigate work, personal development, social settings, and relationships. The book discusses: the impact technology has on our lives, cultural complexity, diversity & inclusion, and transition. Readers will also find accounts of TCKs, the history of TCKs and changes that have taken place, transition from culture to culture as well as re-entry.

In addition, the book covers topics of unresolved grief, identity formation, highly mobile communities, and has a section for adult TCKs, parents, spouses, counselors, employers etc.

Michael V. Pollock was raised between three US states and Kenya, and has, as an adult TCK, lived in various US states and in Tianjin, China. His work includes coaching, teaching, and advocating for deeper and broader care for TCKs.

Ruth E. Van Reken is a citizen of the USA raised for thirteen years in Nigeria. She began writing and speaking about TCKs in 1984 and went on to co-author "Third Culture Kids" with Dave Pollock.

Raising Up a Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids: A Practical Guide to Preventive Care

By Lauren Wells, Independently published, 2020.

A proactive and practical guide to raising healthy Third Culture Kids anywhere in the world. This book helps to multiply the benefits of international life and brings the awareness of challenges that can influence the development of TCKs.

Stacked with useful information and practical advice, the book is for anyone raising or working with Third Culture Kids.

Lauren Wells is the CEO of TCK Training/Unstacking Co. as well as a Third Culture Kid Expert and author of several books on TCK topics. A TCK herself, Lauren moved to Tanzania from California when she was twelve. Between age twelve and heading to university at eighteen, she and her family moved four times. 

Raising Global Teens: A Practical Handbook for Parenting in the 21st Century

By Anisha Abraham, Summertime Publishing, 2020.

Raising kids in a global world is challenging, but what about raising teens while living an international life? What is it like for teens who live abroad, how can they discover themselves while moving countries? Let's add having parents from different cultures, and being exposed to multicultural environments daily?

"Raising Global Teens" explores topics that international teens face daily: identity, social media, body image, traumatic events, puberty, drugs, and stress all in the context of our modern, mobile world.

In the book, Anisha Abraham presents real-life examples, recent research, as well as her experience working with teens for the last 25 years. She focuses on solutions to help international teens be happy, healthy, and resilient. She provides tips and strategies in a way that is practical, engaging, and humorous.

Anisha Abraham is a pediatrician and teen health specialist on faculty at Children's National Hospital in Washington DC and a global speaker and teen health media expert.

The Third Culture Teen: In Between Cultures, In Between Life Stages

By Jiwon Lee, New Degree Press, 2020.

TCT (Third Culture Teens), as if being stuck between cultures is not hard enough, these young adults must also face being stuck between childhood and adulthood.

The author, Jiwon Lee, recollects how she struggled with identity and confidence. In her book, she shares stories of TCTs overcoming challenges and using these experiences to their advantage. How technology influences teenagers nowadays and what it is like to adjust to life in college. She challenges our definitions of home, being an adult, as well as xenophobia during COVID-19.

The book is written in an engaging and relatable way, making readers feel as if we all have a part of a TCK in us.

Jiwon Lee is an award-winning filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles. She embraced her identity as a Third Culture Kid when she moved to the US, which inspired her to write a book for other Third Culture Teens struggling to find a place in this world.

Girl Uprooted: A Memoir

By Lena Lee, Little Koo Press, 2023.

This is a very raw and vulnerable book written by Lena Lee about identity, how to feel a sense of belonging when living in multiple cultures, languages, friendships, and homes.

It's a story about a diplomat's daughter who moves every three years and is struggling to find her identity. The book presents many challenges and the consequences of being uprooted. It discusses disowning roots, depression, and alcohol abuse because of living between cultures.

Lena Lee was born in South Korea but grew up moving countries every three years. As a TCK, she has lived in Seoul, Paris, Oslo, Kuala Lumpur, and New Jersey. She lives in London, a place she now calls home(ish).

Unstacking Your Grief Tower: A Guide to Processing Grief as an Adult Third Culture Kid

By Lauren Wells, Self-published, 2021.

Countless goodbyes, relocations, new beginnings, loss, nostalgia, and missing friends as well as loved ones are bound to result in grief and at times trauma. These are some of the blocks that are stacked in a TCK Grief Tower.

In her book, Lauren Wells accompanies readers in a compassionate and practical manner while they unstack their Grief Tower. This book helps with processing change, grief, and loss. It is a book for anyone, but especially helpful for adult TCKs, TCKs, their parents, and loved ones.

This is a workbook and therefore requires a bit more time working through than a quick read.

The author, as mentioned earlier in this blog post, is CEO of TCK Training/Unstacking Co. as well as a Third Culture Kid Expert and author of several books on TCK topics.

Belonging Beyond Borders: How Adult Third Culture Kids Can Cultivate a Sense of Belonging

By Megan C. Norton, Belonging Beyond Borders, LLC, 2022.

For many people, a sense of belonging is created and sustained by the place we live in, communities, people who surround us and who we interact with. For TCKs, it is a constantly changing scenario. How can they sustain a sense of belonging if they are continuously moving around?

"Belonging Beyond Borders", written by Megan C. Norton, supports the journey of Adult Third Culture Kids in unpacking what it means to belong. Using self-reflection exercises and questions, readers focus on what belonging means to them, how to belong, where to belong, and why belonging is needed.

This book is also a tool for reflecting on how a mobile life has impacted those who live it, and how they are connected to people and places. In her book, the author offers compassion, insight, as well as practical activities for self-reflection.

Megan Norton is a Third Culture Kid author, consultant, and researcher focused on supporting cross-cultural individuals. Growing up as a U.S. diplomat dependent, she lived in six countries and has lived in four more as an Adult Third Culture Kid. Megan is the podcast host of A Culture Story, director of a non-profit for TCKs, and writer at adultthirdculturekid.com.

Arriving Well: Stories about identity, belonging, and rediscovering home after living abroad

By Cate Brubaker, Doreen Cumberford and Helen Watts, Self-published, Kindle Edition, 2018.

After living abroad for a number of years, returning home can be a greater challenge than leaving in the first place. You might feel that time in your home country has stood still and that you're out of synch with friends and family.

"Arriving Well" is a compilation of five compelling and vulnerable autobiographical stories of re-entry. Although each story is different, they share the theme of returning to your passport country.

Readers will find useful resources: mini-coaching, reflection questions, and helpful resources.

Doreen Cumberford, a serial expat of 40+ years, speaks, coaches, and writes on International Transitions and Re-entry. Helen Watts spent eight years living in Kyrgyzstan with her husband and family and returned to Oxford in 2010 where she retrained as a life coach. Cate Brubaker is a re-entry coach, consultant, and author that has lived in Germany, and worked and traveled on four continents.

Nest: A memoir of home on the move

By Catriona Turner, Word Bothy Press, 2023.

International life is often paved with challenges. In this story told by Catriona Turner, the challenges paved her way home – to herself. What was supposed to be an exciting adventure of living in the South of France for three years turned out to be a long international experience she did not anticipate.

In her memoir, Catriona Turner describes her mental health struggles, missing family, multiple culture shocks as she maneuvered through life in France, Uganda, Congo, and Denmark, finally coming face to face with a global pandemic. An honest, heartfelt story of living an international life as an accompanying spouse, mother, writer, and community seeker.

Catriona Turner is a Scottish writer and editor. She has spent fourteen years globally mobile with her family, living in France (three times), Uganda, Congo, and Denmark.

#Living The Dream: Expat life stripped bare

By Carrie Frais (editor), Springtime Books, 2nd edition, 2021.

Real, powerful stories of nine women.

Life abroad comes at a price. For some, it is coming to grips with the various challenges that pop up after the honeymoon stage: loneliness, grief, living as an accompanying spouse, parent, and trying to fit into local communities.

Expat life raises important questions of who am I? Where do I belong? What is my role in this chapter of international life? How are we and our loved ones affected by the loss of identity and feeling rootless?

In this book, nine women openly and honestly tell their stories, addressing the emotional aspects and challenges of moving abroad.

Carrie Frais is a British broadcast journalist and PR consultant who has been living in Barcelona since 2006. In 2008, she founded MumAbroad.com, one of Europe's leading websites for international families living in Spain, France, Italy, or Germany.

What about you? Do you have some favorite expat books?

We'd love to hear about them!

Email your book recommendations to Anne Katrine Skovenborg at aks@c3consulting.dk.

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How to have a successful relocation

• "Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Truth about Moving Abroad and Whether It's Right for You". By Paul Allen, Springtime Books, 2010.
• "The Mobile Life: A New Approach to Moving Anywhere". By Diane Lemieux and Anne Parker, XPat Scriptum Publishers, 2014.
• "The Emotionally Resilient Expat - Engage, Adapt and Thrive Across Cultures". By Linda A Janssen, Summertime Publishing, 2013.
• "The Art of Crossing Cultures". By Craig Storti, Nicholas Brealey, 3rd edition, 2021.
• "The Expert Expat: Your Guide to Successful Relocation Abroad". By Melissa Brayer Hess and Patricia Linderman, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2nd edition, 2007.
• "Bridge the Culture Gaps: A toolkit for effective collaboration in the diverse, global workplace". By Robert Gibson, John Murray Press, 2021.
• "Expat Women: Confessions - 50 Answers to Your Real-Life Questions about Living Abroad". By Andrea Martins, Victoria Hepworth and Robin Pascoe, Expat Women Enterprises Pty Ltd ATF Expat Women, 2011.
• "Moving Without Shaking: The guide to expat life success (from women to women)". By Yelena Mackay, Moving Without Shaking Ltd, 2014.
• "Happy Around the Globe Guide: 10 Principles for Happiness and Success When Living Abroad". By Sophie Bosch-van Doorn, Happy Around the Globe, 2022.
• "Let's Move Abroad: The all-in-one, no bullsh*t guidebook that makes moving overseas easy". By Charlotte Rijkenberg, Self-published, 2022.
• "Your Native Language is Your Superpower: Reinventing Yourself With Joy in a New Country". By Judith Krieger, Cocoricoworld, 2022.
• "A Rubric for Transition Among Cultures: To Assist and Inform Cross-culture Transition Progress". By Rachel E Timmons, Summertime Publishing, 2022.
• "The Practice of Processing: Exploring our emotions to chart an intentional course". By Elizabeth Vahey Smith, Self-published, 2022.
• "The Newcomer's Dictionary". By Joyce Agee, Springtime Books, 2022.
• "The Psychology of Culture Shock". By Colleen Ward, Stephen Bochner and Adrian Furnham, Routledge, 2001.
• "Why Travel Matters: A Guide to the Life Changing Effects of Travel". By Craig Storti, Nicholas Brealey, 2018.
• "A Field Guide to Getting Lost". By Rebecca Solnit, Penguin Books, 2006.

Relocating as a couple and life as an expat partner

• "The Expat Partner's Survival Guide: A light-hearted but authoritative manual for anyone accompanying their partner on an overseas assignment". By Clara Wiggins, Self-published (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform), 2015.
• "Expat Partner: Staying Active & Finding Work". By Carine Bormans and Marie Geukens, Lannoo Publishers, 2020.
• "HERE WE ARE: The International Career Couple Handbook". By Paul Vanderbroeck and Jannie Aasted Skov-Hansen, Springtime Books, 2021.
• "Unpack: A Guide to Life as an Expat Spouse". By Lana Wimmer and Tanya Arler, Springtime Books, 2017.
• "A Career in Your Suitcase - A Practical Guide to Creating Meaningful Work... Anywhere". By Jo Parfitt and Colleen Reichrath-Smith, Summertime Publishing, 4th edition, 2013.

Education for expat kids

• "The Globally Mobile Family's Guide to Educating Children Overseas". By Karen A. Wrobbel, Wipf and Stock, 2021.
• "Expat Education: An Expat's Guide to Choosing a School Overseas". By Carole Hallett Mobbs, Self-published, 2019.
• "Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it". By Douglas W. Ota, Summertime Publishing, 2014.

Living across languages

• "The Parents' Guide to Raising Multi-literate Children: 70+ fun, engaging, and purposeful activities to liven up literacy learning". By Mr. Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori, The Library 4 Multilinguals, 2021.
• "The Toolbox for Multilingual Families". By Ute Limacher-Riebold and Ana Elisa Miranda, Self-published, 2020.
• "Bringing Up a Bilingual Child". By Rosa Rosenback, Filament Publishing Ltd, 2014.
• "A Journey in Languages and Cultures: The Life of a Bicultural Bilingual". By Francois Grosjean, Oxford University Press, 2019.
• "The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak, and Live Transform Our Minds". By Viorica Marian, Dutton, 2023.
• "Don't Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth About Language". By David Shariatmadari, W. W. Norton & Company, 2020.

Books for expat kids

• "Little Bunny Dandelion is moving house: or: how to make friends abroad". By Angela Schreiner, Books on Demand, 2017. Suitable for kids aged 3–5.
• "A Fish out of Water". By Hannah Flatman (author) and Rekha Salin (illustrator), Independently published, 2022. Suitable for kids aged 3–7.
• "B at Home: Emma Moves Again". By Valerie Besanceney, Summertime Publishing, 2014. Suitable for kids aged 5–7.
• "Sammy's Next Move". By Helen Maffini, Self-published (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011. Suitable for kids aged 4–9.
• "Goodbye Again". By Katja Aegerter, Summertime Publishing, 2021. Suitable for kids aged 3–10.
• "Areli Is a Dreamer: A True Story". By Areli Morales, Random House Studio, 2021. Suitable for kids aged 4–8.
• "Slurping Soup and Other Confusions: true stories and activities to help third culture kids during transition". By Tonges, Menezes, and Gemmer Emigh, Summertime Publishing, 2nd edition, 2013. Suitable for kids aged 3–12.
• "More to the Story". By Hena Khan, Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019. Suitable for kids aged 8–12.
• "The Kids' Guide to Living Abroad". By Martine Zoer, Foreign Service Youth Foundation, 2007. Suitable for kids aged 8–12.
• "GO! My Personal Guide and Diary Before, During and After Moving Abroad". By Maria Kofod Techow, Emilie Frijs Due and Bente Skovby Burke, Summertime Publishing, 2022. Suitable for kids aged 6–13.
• "The Arrival". By Shaun Tan, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. Suitable for kids aged 8+.
• "Wonder". By R.J. Palacio, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. Suitable for kids aged 9–11.
• "See Ya Later, Allie Rader". By Emily Steele Jackson, Independently published, 2021. Suitable for kids aged 10–13.
• "My Moving Booklet". By Valérie Besanceney, Summertime Publishing, 2015.  
• "Across the Pond". By Joy McCullough, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2022. Suitable for kids aged 10+.
• "The Means That Make Us Strangers". By Christine Kindberg, Self-published, 2019. Suitable for kids/teens aged 12–17.
• "The 38 Impossible Loves of Naoko Nishizawa". By Monna McDiarmid, House of Winterport Press, 2023. Suitable for teens aged 13–18.

Third culture kids (TKCs) and how to best support them

• "Emotional Resilience and the Expat Child: Practical Storytelling Techniques That Will Strengthen the Global Family". By Julia Simens, Summertime Publishing, 2011.
• "Kids on the Move: 25 Activities to Help Kids Connect, Reflect & Thrive Around the World". By Leah Moorefield Evans and Jodi Harris MSW, Self-published (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform), 2018.
• "Third Culture Kids: A Gift to Care For". By Ulrika Ernvik, Familjeglädje, 2019.
• "Misunderstood: The impact of growing up overseas in the 21st century". By Tanya Crossman, Summertime Publishing, 2016.
• "Finding Home: Third Culture Kids in the World". By Rachel Jones (editor), Self-published, 2019.
• "Belonging Everywhere and Nowhere: Insights into Counseling the Globally Mobile". By Lois J. Bushong, Mango Tree Intercultural Services, 2013.

Books for third culture teens and adult TCKs

• "Incredible Lives and the Courage to Live Them: Thoughts of a Third Culture Kid therapist". By Rachel Cason, Life Story Therapies, 2023.
• "Worlds Apart: A Third Culture Kid's Journey". By Marilyn R. Gardner, Doorlight Publications, 2018.
• "Arrivals, Departures and the Adventures In-Between". By Christopher O'Shaughnessy, Summertime Publishing, 2014.
• "Letters Never Sent: A Global Nomad's Journey From Hurt To Healing". By Ruth E. Van Reken, Summertime Publishing, 2012.
• "Invisible Outsider: From battling bullies to building bridges, my life as a Third Culture Kid". By Casey E. Bales, Summertime Publishing, 2022.
• "Aftershocks: A Memoir". By Nadia Owusu, Simon & Schuster, 2021.
• "Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging". By Marilyn Gardner, Doorlight Publications, 2014.
• "The Writer and the Overseas Childhood: The Third Culture Literature of Kingsolver, McEwan and Others". By Antje M. Rauwerda, McFarland, 2012.
• "Adult Third Culture Kids: Potential global leaders with global mindset". By Patricia Stokke, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2014.

Personal expat stories

• "Life on the Move: The Ups and Downs of Living Abroad". By Lisa Webb (editor), Canadian Expat Mom, 2019.
• "There's Some Place Like Home: Lessons From a Decade Abroad". By Dina Honour, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
• "My Life Abroad: A selection of expat stories". By Cyril Richert and Florence Gindre, Afnil, 2016.
• "Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, Five Languages, One Family". By Melissa Dalton-Bradford, Familius, 2013.
• "Living Elsewhere: Because a life overseas can be tough and, well, sometimes you just have to laugh". By Catherine Brew, Springtime Books, 2018.
• "Once Upon an Expat". By Lisa Webb (main author), Canadian Expat Mom, 2016.
• "Badass Abroad: How to Get Your Expat Shift Together". By Claire Hauxwell, Springtime Books, 2022.
• "Expat Alien: My Global Adventures". By Kathleen Gamble, Self-published (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform), 2012.
• "Expat Life Slice by Slice". By Apple Gidley, Summertime Publishing, 2012.

Coming home

• "The Art of Coming Home". By Craig Storti, Nicholas Brealey, 2nd edition, 2022.
• "The Re-Entry Relaunch Roadmap: A Creative Workbook for Finding Happiness, Success & Your Next Global Adventure After Being Abroad". By Cate Brubaker, Thinking Travel Press, 2016.