Book Review: A Portable Identity

Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Reviews
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First of all, if you are a fellow Canadian, I wish you a Happy Canada Day!
If you are not Canadian, no worries – we Canucks are known for being a nice, welcoming bunch, so please grab a chair, get yourself a drink and stay for a while!

In case you’d like something funny to read while we wait for the fireworks and the barbecue, I would recommend this excellent post by James Chartrand for Copyblogger: Old-School Marketing No Longer Working? Blame Canada.
I loved the bit about startling the wildlife and being – politely, of course – shown the door by Mounties. Then again, I am easily entertained.

And now, it’s time for a book review!

I have a really good workbook to recommend today. Not exactly a light summer read, but if you are ready to do some serious, powerful personal work to better understand how expatriation has changed you, I cannot think of a better starting point.

A Portable Identity

A Portable Identity: A Woman’s Guide to Maintaining a Sense of Self While Moving Overseas, by Debra Bryson and Charise Hoge.

Hallelujah! At long last, a book written by and for expats that provides a good structure for personal, inner work.
Unlike 90% of expat literature, the focus here is not on what you should be doing (usually some kind of repetitive, overly general advice like “Stay positive!”), but on the person you are being. That is to say, how you interact with your environment, your emotions and your new identity as an expat.

Who it is for:
- The authors wrote with women, and more specifically accompanying spouses, in mind. Having said that, the questions they raise about identity, change and personal resources are so fundamental to the expat experience that they can apply to everyone. If you are a man and are willing to overlook a few gendered pronouns, you will have no problem working through the exercises in this book.
- This is clearly a book for expats who are willing to learn about themselves and do some clarifying work on their identity. It is all about getting to know yourself and your inner mechanisms really, really well, without getting all touchy-feely or new age about it.

What I liked:
- The authors have a knack for explaining psychological concepts in a simple, direct manner. No psychobabble here – both Bryson and Hoge have a solid background in Social Work and it shows in the clarity of their writing.
- The workbook format is designed to guide you through the process in logical order. The exercises and questions build up on each other as you work your way through the chapters.
- The step-by-step approach, with lots of open-ended questions, is as close to coaching as you can get in a book. Bryson and Hoge don’t talk at you; rather, they ask a series of insightful questions that gradually nudge you toward a better understanding of yourself.
- The authors are not afraid to share their personal experiences, including painful or not-so-flattering ones. Their openness is not only a sign of courage and integrity, it also makes it easier for you to face your own pain and vulnerability.

What could be improved:
- Even though the exercises are meant to be done over a period of time, the whole process is a lot of work. You may want to pace yourself, find an accountability partner or have a coach support you while you work with this book. Otherwise you might just stop halfway through.
- The exercises require a fair bit of introspection, and some of them are rather dry. I would have loved a touch of humour or something quirky here and there to lighten up the mood.
- I felt that in a couple of places, you were left with a new insight or a potentially important piece of knowledge about yourself, yet there were no instructions on what to do next. This is another reason why it would be valuable to partner up with a coach while working through this book – to find practical applications for your new insights in your everyday life, or to figure out the next steps after a major breakthrough.

Conclusion:

I highly recommend A Portable Identity if you want to gain clarity and a better awareness of your new expat self.
In fact, this book dovetails so nicely with the coaching process and the principles of my own work that I often recommend it to my one-on-one coaching clients before we start working together.

I have not seen A Portable Identity in bookstores, but you can find it on Amazon.com: A Portable Identity: A Woman’s Guide to Maintaining a Sense of Self While Moving Overseas, Revised Edition (affiliate link)

Happy reading!

Emmanuelle

Image: Happy Canada Day eh? by Fanboy30