This new, fully updated edition of The Mobile Life by Diane Lemieux and Anne Parker targets individuals embarking on their first expatriate experience by inviting them to ‘master the challenge of moving somewhere new’.

A practical guide, the book uses the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 1914 Antarctic expedition to explain the challenges of a global move, and the essential attributes of having good leader to ensure the survival of accompanying family members.

As the authors state at the start of chapter 1, ‘moving to live somewhere new is an all-encompassing, life-altering event’.

The book takes the reader through various stages in the process of moving, from deciding whether or not to getting your children on board with your decision and finding a new social life once you are settled.

Reading about Shackleton is an enjoyable distraction, yet comparing a sea captain, who travelled with his crew and became trapped for months in Antarctica before returning home to his family, with an English family being sent on their maiden expat posting in Abu Dhabi or SingaporeŽ can seem a little forced.

Nevertheless, the book, first published in 2013, has become a classic in the expatriate library and will certainly benefit individuals wanting to delve into the why and how questions that arise from a decision to move to a new country.

The book, after all, is based on the psychology of making the transition -Ž a step many expats do not consider in their excitement at becoming global citizens.

Buy this book