5 Books Every Expat Should Read
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Do you enjoy reading? Are you an expat or a soon-to-be expat? Then you’re in the right place. I have loved reading ever since I can remember. Reading has been a way for me to escape but also to educate myself. And the 5 books I’m going to discuss in this post helped me tremendously with living abroad as an expat, each in different ways.
1. Expat Life Slice by Slice by Apple Gidley
Before I became an expat, I knew very few expats in real life, actually….none. But I went to a conference for my HR job in Houston and saw Apple Gidley speak about her time as an expat. Her life as an expat intrigued me so much that I went home and purchased her book immediately.
Expat Life Slice by Slice shares Apple’s story of being a multi-decade expat across several continents. She does a marvelous job of weaving in some hard feelings that are common for expats with funny stories. Which is so true of expat life - the many highs and lows one experiences. As an aspiring expat at the time, I found her book an inspiration on how I would want to live my life overseas - integrated as much as possible to truly learn the dynamics of the countries I would live in.
If you are a soon-to-be expat this book will shed some much needed light on what you can expect living overseas. And if you’re a current expat, when you read this book you’ll feel as if you’re talking to a friend you met abroad who’s had the same life experiences as you.
2. Mastering Your Mean Girl by Melissa Ambrosini
When I lived abroad (and still today as a repat) I struggled with an inner critic. She told me I wasn’t good enough, funny enough, outgoing enough to live abroad or that I would never make friends in a foreign country. Or that learning the language was too difficult.
Melissa’s book was a welcome voice that shared how to silence my inner “mean girl” or critic. Throughout the book there are also extra “inspo-action” questions for you to journal on to really do the inner work on yourself. Having a loud inner critic as an expat can be detrimental to your assimilation in a new country. If you don’t have the confidence that you can make a new life living abroad, it will be difficult for you to put yourself out there to learn new skills, try new foods, learn new customs or meet new people.
Mastering Your Mean Girl will help guide you to a place of loving yourself vs. critiquing yourself and every expat needs to start from a place of love and acceptance when living abroad.
3. A Moveable Marriage by Robin Pascoe
I read this book after we had already relocated to Angola but I wish I had read it before Andrew accepted a job offer to move abroad. Moving overseas with a partner is not easy, especially when it’s for one of your jobs (i.e the other has to leave their career behind). For the first 6 months living in Angola, I struggled hard with reminders of leaving my career behind in Houston. I was making strides in obtaining a job in Angola (5 job offers actually!) buttt I still had my doubts and was worried about what the move meant for me. Not to mention, we were newlyweds at less than 2 years married and still figuring out life as a married couple when we decided to embark on expat life.
This book was instrumental in me realizing my feelings were valid and that many other expat wives (or husbands) experience the exact same thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
Robin offers a realistic view on moving abroad while married through her years of personal experience. Throughout the book, no topic is off limits as she discusses the realities of moving abroad for your partners career, including what that means for your own career, how to think about finances, dealing with isolation when your partner goes to work all day (and business trips on weekends) and the lack of support most companies provide the non-working spouse.
You’ll see when reading this book that moving abroad and experiencing all the challenges of expat life can either be a detriment to your marriage or make it stronger.
All expats should read this book. But if you are planning to move abroad for your spouse's career, this book is a must read! Do not sleep on it. You need Robin’s experiences and guidance to help you navigate the crazy and emotionally trying world of expat wife life.
4. Mindset by Carol Dweck
Your mindset is another crucial tool that can either work for you or against you as an expat living abroad. In my expat journey, I’ve experienced life abroad with a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and approaching expat life with a growth mindset is much more conducive to a successful life overseas.
In Mindset, Carol thoroughly explains the differences between the two mindset types and how you can become more growth mindset orientated. I personally saw the results in my life while living in Buenos Aires. The first year and a half were hard for me to adjust to life there and I would continuously write off Portenos (citizens of Buenos Aires) as being rude. But this book helped me to see I was living with a fixed mindset towards Argentine culture. In order to assimilate and live a successful life in Buenos Aires, I needed to become more growth minded. It’s easy when you live abroad to think your way of doing things is the right way. Or you shouldn’t have to change because you’re only going to be living in that country for a few years.
But if you’re looking to make the most of your time living abroad, this book will be extremely helpful in becoming more open to the positives around you, even when things seem frustrating.
5. Atomic Habits by James Clear
Habits can make or break you, especially as an expat. I found this book when I was at a low point in Buenos Aires and needed to change up my routine. But it was difficult for me to break the negative habits I found myself doing each day - scrolling on social media too much, feeling depressed, not wanting to leave my apartment and drinking too much Malbec at nights to escape.
Atomic Habits was the catalyst I needed to help me build better habits and become happier with my daily life in Buenos Aires. It helped me audit my current habits and gave me tangible ways to add new and better habits into my life to help me work towards the goals I had for my life living in Buenos Aires.
Each day is determined by your daily habits and as an expat, if you have habits that are holding you back from experiencing all your new country has to offer, you may find yourself wasting your life living overseas.
If you’re planning to become an expat or if you already are an expat, be sure to check out these books. Each book offers a fresh perspective on life that will be beneficial to your success as an expat.
Whether it’s your daily habits, mindset or the way you handle your marriage as you live abroad. Life as an expat is never easy and can raise complicated emotions and situations.
Having these books with you as you navigate living overseas will help you work through those challenging times and remind you that you aren’t alone - others have walked in your shoes and their support through their experiences and stories will be essential to a successful expat life.
Happy Reading!
