 I first met Nell Smith in a coffee bar in The Hague when she was visiting her daughter, my friend, Colleen Reichrath-Smith. I knew Colleen well and we were already working on the fourth edition of Career in Your Suitcase. Colleen is a career consultant who grew up in Canada and has married a Dutchman and settled here. Then I met her mom. Nell is also a career consultant but she grew up in Holland and met a Canadian man and settled there. She, like Colleen, is passionate about her work. Peas in a pod, chips off the old block and other clichés come to mind, but you know, they are an impressive pair and boy, they know how to write and speak about their specialist topic. Almost three years since that ‘cappuccino meeting’, Nell’s book is out and is a testament to her incredible network and knowledge. Whether you are already retired or it’s on the horizon, you need this book. It’s about finding meaning and is crammed with practical ideas. I loved it.  JP: Tell us about Retire to the Life You Love. What is it about? Can you describe it in just a few sentences?
NS: Retire to the Life You Love is a fresh, energizing approach to the next chapter of your life. It’s a how-to book you can use to get inspiration, clarity, and confidence for living this long life phase true to who you are as a unique human being; it guides you to being intentional in choosing those options that are most joyful and important to you. It gives you the practical tools to design it, your way. JP: Why did you write the book? NS: The book is a natural outcome of the workshop I developed more than 20 years ago to help my husband who was retiring figure out what could be next for him. I still facilitate this evolving workshop for employees of organizations. Because of requests, I developed a train the trainer program so others could use my models and tools in their own coaching, facilitating, and speaking practices. I wrote the book to make the tools that have helped countless of men and women available to the general public. JP: Why do you think it needed to be written? NS: This book needed to be written because so many people don’t know where to get help to figure out what they want to do or what’s even possible for this life stage. I already had the guide with the models and tools and I wanted to get the word out to as many people as possible that you can create new meaning and purpose in your life and that it’s not too late to live the life you love. JP: Who do you think will read Retire to the Life You Love? Who would you like to read the book? NS: All the men and women who are feeling uncertain about their options and who want to be inspired and energized to live an enriched second half of life. All those who need or want to keep working or who wonder who they are when they are no longer working. All those already retired who feel that something is missing. All those who want to find a new purpose and meaning for their lives at any age. JP: What steps have you taken (or do you plan to take) to promote Retire to the Life You Love. Which methods do you think work best and can you give any examples? NS:
JP: How did you choose your publisher and publishing method? Why did you decide to take this route? NS: I needed to know the book would be published before I had the confidence to seriously continue writing it. The stories I heard from authors about peddling a book to publishers and receiving rejections was very discouraging. My daughter was co-authoring a book with Jo. On her advice, I connected and met with Jo. When Jo agreed that my book needed to see the light of day, I really did not explore further. I like the fact that Jo will bring international attention to it through her expat network. I hadn’t known about this method of publishing – a hybrid of author self-publishing with publisher stewardship. JP: What was your biggest challenge regarding the writing of Retire to the Life You Love? How did you overcome that? NS: Once I knew it would actually be published, I had to find my voice again after my thinking had evolved over the many years of sporadic writing. I am a member of the local chapter of the Independent Publishing Association. I attended about 4 meetings and thanks to the people I met, I was encouraged to try finish the book before I spoke at a national conference 4 months later, as so much of it had already been done. The book has all the tools that I have been using in my workshops for years (plus additional ones, all expanded with examples and stories). And I had been writing pieces of the book for years already. However, when I started the integration process, I found none of it worked together as I had hoped. I had to rewrite the narrative parts in the more personalized voice and tone I wanted to use. I found myself weaving my own story and examples into the book as well, along with the real life examples of people I know or work with, or people who were participants in my workshops. It all became much more work than I had anticipated and by pulling up my sleeves and committing to give priority focus to this process, it got done. I cleared the decks and wrote seriously every morning for about 3-4 hours, until it was completed – though unfortunately not in time for the conference as I had hoped. I took names and email addresses instead of those who wanted to know when the book would be released. JP: Now you have written this book, what has writing it done for you? (your family, your self-esteem, your business…) NS: At this point it’s too early to tell. The book seems to have taken over my life for now. I’m busier than ever and I was already busy. I plan to recreate more balance again once the next months of promoting and speaking are over. Throughout the writing, I maintained some of my calming practices of tai chi, yoga, meditation, and coffee chats with friends. All those have helped to keep me grounded. What I’m very encouraged by is how well the book has been received by early reviewers. I hope with good online reviews and word of mouth, the ball will mostly keep rolling on its own. JP: If you were to give advice to someone else who is thinking about writing a book of this nature, what would be your number one tip? NS: Have a group of supporters in your corner who will keep encouraging you with practical suggestions for those times you get stuck. And a husband who fills in the household gaps while you focus on writing your book. JP: Anything else you’d like to add? NS: My passion is to help people choose a life direction that is personally meaningful, joyful, or important to them. The bigger message is that individually and collectively, the large generation currently retiring has an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference for the greater good of society.
 JP: Tell us about Arrivals, Departures, and the Adventures In-Between!. What is it about? Can you describe it in just a few sentences? COS: It’s a book about the adventure of being a Third Culture or Cross Cultural Kid – it’s an adventure that more and more people are a part of. This book uses stories and experiences to reveal the strengths and challenges of this particular way of growing up so that those who are TCKs and CCKs can make the most of their strengths and tackle their challenges. JP: Why did you write the book? COS: I wanted to write something that wasn’t just about TCKs and CCKs, but for them. I wanted there to be something written at a teenager’s level to help provide some language and framework for understanding both their identity and the very important place in an ever-globalizing world. JP: Why do you think it needed to be written? COS: The world really is moving closer and closer to the TCK and CCK experience. Because of that, TCKs and CCKs are like previews of coming attractions! They’re uniquely placed to play a very powerful role in shaping society on a global level. I want them to be empowered to do so with the knowledge of what they have to offer, what challenges they (and increasingly much of the world) face, and a solid grasp of their core identity. JP: Who do you think will read Arrivals, Departures, and the Adventures In-Between!? Who would you like to read the book? COS: I hope TCKs and CCKs will read this book and see themselves in it – it’s been written with teens in mind. My hope and intention is that parents, teachers, and those who work with international or cross-cultural teens and families will also gain insight from the book. JP: What steps have you taken (or do you plan to take) to promote Arrivals, Departures, and the Adventures In-Between! Which methods do you think work best and can you give any examples? COS: I work as an international speaker, so I’ll be bringing my book with me to be available at schools and other events that I speak at. I’ll also be promoting it on my website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed [find the details below]. I’m very grateful to other TCK and CCK authors as well as Among Worlds magazine and TheEdCafe.com for being willing to review my book and hope other publications will do the same. I’m hoping word of mouth will spread as well! JP: How did you choose your publisher and publishing method? Why did you decide to take this route? COS: I chose Summertime Publishing because they really have cornered the market when it comes to books aimed specifically at the expat, international, and even cross-cultural community. They’re very well connected in that world and it’s been a great help to make use of that network in the publishing process. JP: What was your biggest challenge regarding the writing of Arrivals, Departures, and the Adventures In-Between!? How did you overcome that? COS: I think the biggest challenge was being able to communicate sociological, developmental, and cultural elements, lessons, and truths in a way that is interesting and engaging. I find stories are a great vehicle for accomplishing just that. We’re built to respond to and retain stories, so if you can weave truth and knowledge into an engaging escapade, hopefully it makes the information far easier to retain and digest. JP: Now you have written this book, what has writing it done for you? (your family, your self-esteem, your business…) COS: I think having written the book has given me even more energy to try and inspire TCKs and CCKs to make the most of who they are and do great things in the world. My hope is that the book will open the door to even more avenues to be able to share with TCKs, CCKs, their families, schools, etc. JP: If you were to give advice to someone else who is thinking about writing a book of this nature, what would be your number one tip? COS: I’d say just get things down on paper (or on a screen) – even if it’s initially a mess; once it’s out of your head it can be tidied up, organized and polished. That initial step of getting what we want to say out of our heads seems to be the biggest hurdle: get that out of the way and the rest flows! JP: Please can you add links here to your website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter account and any other social media you have in place. COS:
 Brittani writes:
I wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, we lived in Atlanta, and I loved reading – the escape of slipping into another world. Writing felt like that to me, too. When we moved to what actually felt like another world (Shanghai, China, in 1993, the day I turned twelve), writing was a way to remember home, to salve the missing by writing about it, and a way to observe my new surroundings. With a notebook in hand, I felt safe; I wasn’t just the one everyone was staring at because I had red hair, I was staring back, to take down notes about China. I am now an expatriate in Berlin, and this approach to writing has remained somewhat constant, even if my style (I hope) has changed over the years. I write to understand, to grapple with what I can’t fathom around me, or I write about places I miss, in Asia or the US. And sometimes what I can’t understand takes place in my “home country,” too – over the years I’ve learned that there are many layers of foreignness. And that often it is best to approach things you don’t understand with the curiosity and openness of a tourist, even if they’re interpersonal issues, to try to get a new perspective and achieve a more objective stance. I found a publisher (Grand Central) through my wonderful agent, Jenni Ferrari-Adler. One of my favorite steps of the process was working with my American editor, Helen Atsma, and my German editor, Ulrike Ostermeyer (of Arche Verlag), on reworking certain chapters. To promote the book I gave a five-city reading tour in the US; and the US Consulate, Arche, and various festivals have helped me promote the book overseas. It has been fascinating to hear reactions from readers and audience members at readings: I’ve spoken to many fellow TCKs who’ve approached me and told me everywhere they’ve lived, and how they’ve come to terms with such a fragmented sense of home. I love those exchanges, and am so grateful that the book has provided me an opportunity to meet so many people who are struggling to find “home,” even if they’ve never left the country where they were born. |
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April 2021
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