Terry Anne Wilson and Jo Parfitt
Six months, twelve countries, a thousand thoughts - two mothers share the journey of living a global life.
A continent apart, Jo and Terry Anne made the commitment to email each other every Monday morning for six months. Part memoir, part diary, part self-help, the result is a vulnerable and insightful recollection – the then and now – of expatriate life between two friends. Over the past twenty-five years, the authors have created homes for their families in 12 countries from Japan to Kazakhstan, Malaysia to the Netherlands, the US to India and Oman. Combined, they have raised five sons, supported their husbands’ careers, and cultivated their own passions in writing, publishing, mentoring and more.
Uplifting yet painfully honest, Monday Morning Emails delves into a myriad of tough subjects including identity, parenting, Third Culture Kids, faith, rootlessness, traumatic childhood experiences, anxiety and depression. Jo and Terry Anne emerge from this candidly emotional exchange drawing joy and growth from facing life’s challenges before an ever-changing backdrop. And together they affirm that mothers are mothers, wherever home may be. With input and advice from experts, this book will enlighten, guide, and offer solace.
Ruth Van Reken, author of Letters and co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing up Among Worlds wrote:Wow! You both write beautifully, honestly, and with such authenticity and vulnerability.
Ellen Mahoney, Seachange Mentoring wrote:This book could be used for any expat mom’s club or study guide. It is unique in topic and openness and never about blame, which is why it has such power!
Dr Lesley Lewis, Psychotherapist, Culture3Counsel wrote:Your writing is reflective and thoughtful and moved me. I treasured being allowed inside such an intimate conversation between two moms.
Robin Pascoe, author wrote:I watched the trust build as the emails progressed and could feel the momentum increasing. Wonderful!
Long time expat writer Jo Parfitt gives us her best work yet in this incredibly honest and often gut-wrenching account of expat life with children twenty five years on. And co-author Terry Anne Wilson, who is a new contributor to the expat literature about the globally mobile family, is equally up to the task of sharing her experiences so that others might take heed. The subject of TCKs and the depression which many face in early adulthood, is starkly laid out in these email exchanges and it is a subject not everyone is going to necessarily welcome. But the readers who will embrace this book - expat women of a certain age and experience and not those just starting out - will find it comforting to know they are not alone in facing some of the challenges with their grown up children which these authors identify, often in heart-breaking terms.