Discover the Art of Authentigration: Unlock the Secrets to Thriving in New Cultures and Embrace Your True Identity Abroad
Authentigrate — The Ultimate Handbook to Navigate New Cultures for the Journey Towards True Integration Abroad
Overview — After joining the U.S. Foreign Service in the early 2000s, Kim Dubois would spend the next two decades living in more than five continents serving her country. Moving from Lagos to Kabul to Accra to London, Kim would always begin her transition to a new place by digging out her grandmother’s photo and pin it to her new wall. The image reminded her that, as she traveled the world as one of the few Black female diplomats serving in the Foreign Service, she was carrying on her grandmother’s trailblazing spirit, embodying “the progress and promise of America.”
Kathra was only 8 years old when her family fled Iran. For five years her family was caught up in a system of moving, settling in, and uprooting before finally making their home in Norway. Now that survival was no longer the challenge of each day, Kathra was faced with a new challenge: a crisis of identity that she and her family were all swept up in as they began to rebuild their life. Her cultural heritage as an Iranian was buried by the demands of living abroad until Kathra began to question how she could authentically integrate into her new life without concealing her culture.
Alicia was not unfamiliar with the challenges of changing course in life after she left her 20-year career working technology teams at Fortune 500 startups and nonprofits in Silicon Valley to become a clinical therapist. She had always been a trailblazer, a self-starter, and the one who accomplished many “firsts,” from being the first in her family to get a college degree to being the first female pastor at her church. But when her husband was offered a job at Ila Prison in a small Norwegian town outside of Oslo, Alicia’s identity shifted. She was now an immigrant, a “trailing spouse,” and a woman who was losing her sense of self in her new country.
These are just a few of the many stories Alicia Partee collects in Authentigrate, her groundbreaking guide that examines how those who move abroad can successfully integrate into a new culture while still maintaining their authentic identity. Whereas most guides to moving abroad focus on the logistics of the move – like locating housing, learning a new language, and finding work abroad – Authentigrate grapples with how moving abroad challenges a person’s sense of self and identity. Drawing on her own experience as an accomplished businesswoman, therapist, community organizer, and pastor who uprooted her life in California to follow her husband to Norway, Partee explores what is required in order to authentically integrate (or, “authentigrate”) oneself into a new culture. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is yesterday’s advice as Partee illuminates for readers how daily self-care practices can help a person rediscover their authentic self when they’ve moved abroad. Empowering her readers as they transition into their new life abroad, Partee introduces a four-step process for helping individuals connect with their intentions for living abroad, tap into their authentic identity, and live harmoniously with themselves, their family, and their new neighbors in their new home.
TOP REVIEWS
Great book for those planning to move abroad or those who have moved abroad. I wish I read this book when I had moved to a new country. It helps you understand why it is common to feel unbalanced when you first move abroad and how to find the balance. It gives good strategies on how to deal with the challenges of being new in a new country. It is interesting that the author talks about her personal experience of moving from USA to Norway and also shares other people's experiences. I highly recommend this book to those who have just moved to a new country or planning to move.
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— Kindle Customer
Awesome book and immensely helpful for those moving abroad. Also can be helpful for self reflection in general in a journey if self discovery.
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— M Watson
This book is a must for everyone who either is considering traveling abroad, study or unwillingly have to move because of different reason.
Thank you Alicia for sharing your story and as well connects us with so many others with different story but with the same experience. After reading your book, i feel more connected and have a greater understanding of my journey and being me. Wish i and my parents had this book after we moved unwillingly to another country. But i am happy so many other will have the opportunity to get access to your knowledge❤️
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— Kathra
I’ve read this book to help me overcome my experience abroad and knowing I’m not the only one feeling this way! Thank you Alicia for writing on a topic that’s overlooked by many.
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— Suraiya
AUTHENTIGRATE — INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER BOOK
available as a Hardcover, paperback, kindle and audible
Each chapter of Authentigrate — focuses on a different aspect of the transition to living abroad. Incorporating the stories and testimonials of those who have already faced the challenge alongside research, lessons from Partee’s own life, and strategies for integration, Authentigrate will guide readers as they learn to confidently live their new life abroad. With deep empathy and compassion, Partee acknowledges that this unique transition can come with grief, guilt, and a loss of identity. But she also documents how authentic integration into new cultures can empower readers to navigate change with intention. Authentigrate is unlike any guide to living abroad currently on the market. Part self-help book, part memoir, and part guide, readers will keep returning to these pages and know they are not alone during a season that can be lonely, isolating, and filled with new challenges.
No matter the circumstances, moving abroad does not have to mean letting go of one’s authentic identity. Authentigrate will show readers that they can maintain a true sense of self while navigating their new culture with authenticity and purpose.
Author Bio
Alicia Partee is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, an executive pastor, author, and entrepreneur who was born and raised in Oakland, California. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Theology & Leadership and a Master of Arts in Marriage & Family Therapy. She has also studied Management Information Systems.
After a career working across a variety of Fortune 500 companies and start-up organizations, Alicia transitioned to the roles of clinical program manager for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and then, after following her husband to Norway, became general manager of the Embassy Employee Association (EEA) for the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway. Since living in Norway, she has also moved into the non-profit sector. Her company, Authentigrate, is designed to empower people on their journey abroad, focusing on the human response to change and encouraging readers to intentionally plan for the emotional transition required when living in a new culture or country. Alicia is also the author of a children’s book, My Fluffy Hair, which is aimed at encouraging diversity and uniqueness.
Alicia is married to Dr. Tyrone Partee, and together they have five children and six grandchildren. In her free time she enjoys anything Disney, walking her dog, eating sweet treats, and traveling to new and exciting places. Always looking for ways to help others, Alicia also devotes some of her time to volunteer activities and mentoring. In the future she hopes to be able to help more people to be unapologetically themselves when living abroad and to thrive in their new environment.
Authentigration — is specifically written for high-performing professionals, much like Alicia Partee, who find themselves faced with the challenge of adapting to life abroad. Whether the reader has a passion for travel or has little experience with going abroad, they will find their experiences validated by Partee and the voices she invites to tell their stories about authentically integrating into new cultures. No matter the professional achievements, recognitions, or life accomplishments a reader has had, moving abroad can feel like being reset to zero as that question, “Who am I?”, rises to the surface. Readers who are looking to make this transitional period worthwhile will find practical advice and validation in the pages of Authentigrate.
This book will also specifically appeal to women of color who find themselves in the situation of adapting to life abroad. Although Partee writes for people of all backgrounds and ethnicities throughout the book, women of color will find a piece of themselves in the story of her own life that Partee relates. There are very few texts that acknowledge the specific challenges women of color face when adapting to life abroad. Authentigrate not only speaks to this experience through Partee’s life story, but through the stories of other women of color who have successfully integrated into their new lives abroad.
Table of Contents
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Change is sparked by a specific event or situation, enacting a period of transition. As Partee acknowledges, unlike change, transitions are not linear and they bring about a constellation of larger shifts we must contend with. Partee herself expected that moving to Norway with her husband in 2013 would be a change. But what she was unprepared for were the many personal transitions she would undergo as a result of living abroad. This chapter explores the different stages of transition one can expect to face when moving (and, then, living) abroad.
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Living abroad in a new culture can be an exciting and empowering experience, but that experience can also invoke feelings of guilt, anxiety, denial, and even sadness. Excavating the four stages of “culture shock” – first shock, honeymoon, inner crisis, and self actualization – Partee normalizes all the feelings that arise when integrating into a new culture. This chapter also explores how the theory of “cultural dimensions” can help readers adapt in their new environment.
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Acculturation is the process of acquiring the habits and behaviors of a new culture while also adapting and adjusting to that new culture. Proper acculturation is a key component of Authentigration, or, the condition by which people seek to preserve their authentic sense of self and culture of origin while also learning about and engaging with a new culture. This chapter elaborates on the different ways acculturation can manifest when people engage with their new culture, namely separation, assimilation, and marginalization.
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Partee always thought of herself as a trailblazer. It wasn’t until she moved to Norway that she was introduced to the term “trailing spouse,” or the partner who moves to support their spouse. Upon hearing the term, Partee immediately disliked it as it diminished the courage and everyday practicalities handled by the partner who follows their spouse to a new country. In this chapter, Partee transfigures the “trailing spouse” archetype into a trailblazer, elaborating on all the ways they can maintain their individual identity while aiding their family in this period of transition.
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Having documented both strategies adopted and challenges experienced by those living abroad in a new culture, Partee turns her attention to how to navigate both with purpose. Whether you are seeking out a new community to engage with in your new country or dealing with homesickness, this chapter will show you how to move through each situation with purpose.
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One of the less talked about aspects of transitioning into a new culture is the potential to experience grief while adapting to a new place. Losing a friend, family member, or colleague while abroad can compound the normal feelings of grief. Here, Partee provides coping mechanisms for navigating the grieving process while in transition.
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Like Chapter 6, this chapter takes a closer look at a unique dimension of living abroad, considering what happens when a company or institution asks its employees to live abroad for a period of time. This chapter will specifically addresses the various considerations an employer should make when asking their employee to transition abroad. What kinds of support can companies provide? And what kinds of assistance should employees in these situations expect from their employers?
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As Partee writes, “Authentigration is learning to bring the value of yourself everywhere you go, while also being respectful and mindful of the culture…you are integrating into.” This chapter excavates all the strategies for living authentically as yourself no matter the place you’re in, examining what qualities and characteristics a person needs to adopt in order to successfully “authentigrate” into a new culture. From balancing authenticity with openness to learn about a culture, to finding your authentic identity, this chapter provides readers with a way to rethink integration into a new culture.
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The last step in authentigration is living harmoniously in one’s new country. But what are the elements that make up harmony? In this chapter, Partee adapts the metaphors of music to document the four pillars of harmony – heart, the choir, the musician, and the melody. She shows how these pillars apply to the situation of living authentically aboard, allowing the individual to actively acknowledge and honor their experience while still maintaining their own identity above the noise.
