The Art of Coming Home

Book excerpt: Updated 2nd Edition! If you were lucky, you knew about and were prepared for culture shock when you moved overseas, but unless you are very lucky, you probably don’t know about and are not prepared for reverse culture shock. And you should be. Most expats find coming home after an overseas assignment more difficult than adjusting to a foreign culture—and very few organizations and companies prepare people for the experience. Veteran trainer and consultant Craig Storti sketches the workplace challenges faced by returning businessmen and women as well as the re-entry issues of spouses, younger children, and teenagers. He also addresses in detail the special issues faced by exchange students, international development volunteers, and military and missionary personnel and their families. If you’re about to relocate abroad, are already living abroad, about to come home, or already home, this book walks you through the biggest adjustments, personal and professional, and in this new edition presents a complete do-it-yourself repatriation workshop to help you identify and address your individual readjustment issues.