At Home Anywhere: A Book Review

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Dear Sam,

Are you planning to move abroad in the near future? Are you already living abroad but still struggling to feel fully ‘at home’? Or are you happily living in your own country but searching for more peace within your own skin? Honestly, one or a number of those categories represent most of us here so let it suffice to say that Rachael Lynn’s book, At Home Anywhere, is at the top of our list of recommendations for most anyone!

 

What is At Home Anywhere about?

With the tagline “feel at home wherever life takes you,” you’re likely to pick up the book imagining it’s all about creating a sense of home as you move about as a traveler, digital nomad, and/or other sort of expat (and it is), but it’s so much more! This book really breaks down the process of moving somewhere new into tangible, bit-size pieces. The author tells her own story in a way that you can relate to and that helps you imagine yourself taking the same steps.

The book provides useful advice and poignant questions to ask yourself throughout your process of moving. However, at the core of the book is the concept that being able to feel “at home anywhere” truly requires a practice of manifesting ‘home’ within your own mind, body, and soul. For that reason, the book is more than just another expat memoir, it’s truly a guidebook to getting to know yourself better.

 

Who is the author?

Rachael Lynn is someone we have followed and admired on social media for a while and we love the work she does! She’s an American-Canadian author currently residing in the United Arab Emirates. Before turning into an expat, Rachael worked for personal development coaches and authors. She thought she had the whole self-help field under her belt and that this would make her eventual move to Dubai (one week after getting married to her husband who lived there) completely pain-free. She didn’t expect to suffer from loss of identity, loneliness, or mild depression—but she did.

Personally, we think this is what makes Rachael such an excellent person to write this book. She’s truly been there. She knew all of the right practices to “cultivate inner stability through self reflection”—her current Instagram tagline—but she still struggled with the changes of moving countries. The honesty and vulnerability with which she shares her story is beautiful and inspiring. It’s sure to remind you you’re not alone in the ups and downs along the journey.

 

Okay, so what genre is this?

It’s the perfect blend of memoir and self-help. Her publishers call it “the warm, cosy advice from a sister you want to listen to” and we couldn’t agree more! On one hand, it is a step-by-step guide to moving without losing your inner sense of ‘home.’ On the other hand, it’s just a caring letter from a friend. While some experts seem to write with an air of authority and flawlessness, Rachael demonstrates her expertise by being totally down-to-earth and relatable.

 

What is the structure of the book like?

The book is meticulously organized, with an extensive table of contents with every chapter and subsection denoted—perfect for reference later on. Rachael weaves her own story into every chapter, each of which walk you through a stage of the moving process. However, it’s not really about the logistical stuff. Rachael will challenge you to contemplate the big questions like “What’s Your One Thing?” and “Who am I?”

We really enjoyed that each chapter closes with a “If You Learned Only This” summary, “Write it Out” journaling prompts for reflection, and “Thoughts to Help You” affirmations. Despite having the table of contents to refer to, we found that re-reading the four or five bullets of the summary really helped refresh our memories and find the chapter we were looking for. The journaling prompts are also really useful—so much so that we will even be sharing some of Dani’s responses later in the week, stay tuned!

 

What most surprised us?

To be completely honest with you, we purchased At Home Anywhere as a way to support someone we respect, not because we actually thought the topic applied to us. Boy, were we wrong! The great thing about the way the book is written is that there truly are nuggets of wisdom and truth for you to uncover no matter where you are along your journey. For example, Dani’s been living abroad, off and on, since 2013 but she still found so many things she needed to hear in this book!

We have recommended At Home Anywhere to friends who are considering moving abroad for just a month and friends who are merely moving to a new home in the same city. No matter what kind of change you’re experiencing in your life, you’ll likely find useful advice in this book.

 

Why do we recommend it?

Aside from the wide range of people we think this book could be useful to we also support Rachael’s work overall and believe you will want to as well! On her website, Rachael declares “I believe that we can be happy even when life is messy. And even if we don’t live the way we planned.” And who can’t relate to that? We found the book enjoyable, engaging, and helpful and we believe you will, too. Honestly, we imagine you’ll come away from the book feeling like you have a new friend in Rachael and we love when a book can give us that feeling of connection!

 

What will you get out of it?

Each and every reader will probably get something different out of the book, but that’s the beauty of it! If we had to generalize, we imagine you will come away with a greatest sense of autonomy—a feeling that you can choose to feel at home within yourself regardless of your surroundings. You will come away with the tools needed to self-reflect, adapt to change, build the community you seek, and ask for help when necessary. In short, you will come away with a better understanding of yourself and what home means to you.

 

Totally inspired to read it?

You can purchase At Home Anywhere as an e-book or paperback on Amazon. To be clear, this is not a sponsored post and we haven’t told you anything other than our honest opinion. We genuinely loved the book and want to share the joy with you.

Please let us know if you read At Home Anywhere and share your thoughts with us in the comments! We’re also happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Happy reading!

Sincerely,
Spain