bout de papier, Vol. 21, No. 4 (2005) — Winter 2005 // Hiver 2005, pp. 5–6
THE GLOBAL STAIRCASE, A
HANDBOOK FOR PEOPLE RELO-
CATING INTERNATIONALLY, by
Mary MacKinnon, Ketabsara Press, 2005,
181 pp, $15.00 CAN.
She has done it. Mary MacKinnon has produced the book on international moves we have all been waiting for. The Global Staircase is a lively and engaging handbook on the international relocation process, full of wise advice and smart suggestions. Based on 15 relocations in 30 years of experience as a diplomatic spouse, and 15 years as a international mobility consultant, MacKinnon has written a practical guide designed not only to help avoid the pitfalls and reduce the stresses of the relocation process and but also to extract the most out of a foreign posting.
In the first part of the book MacKinnon identifies the various stages involved in an international move, and provides a series of strategies and tips on ways to avoid or reduce the attendant stresses. MacKinnon’s perspective is enthusiastic and up-beat, she identifies problem areas, but proposes positive strategies, reminding us of the enrichment that an experience abroad can bring. In the second part of the book she addresses a series of expatriate issues, including spousal employment, long-distance elder care and a hilarious section on coping with houseguests called “the expatriate innkeeper.” Fundamentally MacKinnon believes that moving internationally requires, and in the end produces, a set of skills in adapting to change that is useful in other aspects of our lives.
The staircase of the title represents the image which serves as the basis for her model of the international relocation/ change cycle. Inspired by the spiral staircase of a seventh floor walk-up in student days in Paris, where each floor resembled the next, she posits that a foreign posting follows a circular pattern involving the initial uprooting, the culture shock, the gradual adaptation, the comfort zone, and finally the disengagement and eventual return home. She describes how our ability to deal with each stage in the cycle is related to our stage in life, and the experience, skills and languages we have acquired over the years.
Having set off, not long ago, on a fifth posting I often heard the comment: “you have done it so many times before, it must be easy now.” While some aspects are probably easier, there are nevertheless new challenges with each move. MacKinnon identifies three levels or kinds of stress involved in any relocation: the change load, the logistics load (with its “never-ending list”) and the timing load. In her view it is the timing load, or “where we are in our lives” that is highly individual, and changes with each relocation.
We set off on that first posting full of youthful enthusiasm and perhaps some idealism, but with few material possessions or family constraints. With the years we accumulate not only books and bibelots, but more family, community and other responsibilities. Being abroad only exacerbates the challenges that many people, especially women, in our highly mobile society are facing: how to fulfil our obligations to children and aging parents at a distance.
Throughout the book MacKinnon includes a series of “exercises,” with lists of questions and points of discussion to help decision making. She has concrete and practical tips on each stage in the relocation cycle, and for example, on the best way to prepare an international resume, to prepare for leaving a post, to evaluate elder care, or even to provide guidelines for houseguests!
The Global Staircase is the distillation of the experiences and insights of a sensitive participant in this peripatetic life we lead. MacKinnon’s crisp style and organization, sprinkled with good-humoured references to the experiences of her family make for a lively and entertaining read. The 175 pages of this handbook are full of insights and suggestions on how to handle the myriad issues we face as we move around the world. It was written with verve and sensitivity, with an eye to all those in government or business who might find themselves with an international move on the horizon. It will have wide appeal for those contemplating a move, those already on posting, or those envisaging a return home.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 21, No. 4 (2005) — Winter 2005 // Hiver 2005, pp. 5–6. Read the rest of this issue →
