A bit about my book.
I co-authored A Portable Identity: A Woman’s Guide to Maintaining a Sense of Self While Moving Overseas, 2003, Revised Edition 2005, and e-book 2013. A new edition, A Portable Identity: A Guide to Taking Charge of Change During International Relocation, will be released in 2024.
The book has received rave reviews from around the world and is described as “a candid and poignant illustration of how global relocation affects the accompanying spouse’s or partner’s identity.”
Along with my co-author, Charise Hoge, we developed an “innovative and easy-to-use model,” The Wheel, that helps spouses and partners tap into their own abilities to take charge of changes in identity that occur before, during, and after they move, including repatriation, resulting in successful global assignments.
Praise for A Portable Identity.
“Anyone ever to encounter and navigate the endless and exhaustive details involved with moving and living overseas will appreciate the meticulous care and thought that went into this primer. The exercises for planning for, and understanding the different stages, emotions, and thought processes that accompany such a move are terrific, not just for the move itself, but for a very effective and smooth assimilation of this kind of life-changing experience. I will be giving this one to many of my friends who are also contemplating living and working overseas.”
— J.K., International Business Consultant, Washington, D.C.
Additional reviews here.
Debra R. Bryson, LCSW & CPC
Take A Portable Identity along—wherever life takes you.
Through practical exercises and inspiring stories, the book is designed to be a companion and guide for the woman who wants to know:
how changes in your identity can occur during each stage of an international move, from pre-departure to arrival, and while living abroad;
why the thoughts and feelings you may experience as an expatriate accompanying spouse or partner are normal within the context of so much change;
why you may be having difficulty in your new life abroad;
how you can make choices that will help make the global lifestyle a happier and more meaningful experience;
how you can shape your identity in a way that honors your sense of self while living in a foreign country and culture, as well as during repatriation, future moves, and other life transitions.
Additional written works and honors.
Books
A Portable Identity: A Guide to Taking Charge of Change During International Relocation, Co-Author, (coming in 2024)
A Portable Identity: A Woman’s Guide to Maintaining a Sense of Self While Moving Overseas, Co-Author, (2005, 2003); (e-book 2013)
Realities of Foreign Service Life, Contributing Author, Vol. 2, (2007)
Other Published Works
Acclimate: ‘There’s No Place Like Happiness’, Debra R. Bryson, MSW, and Charise M. Hoge, MSW, (November 2010)
The Expatriate Observer: A Publication of ORC Worldwide, ‘The Impact of Foreign Culture on Your Identity’, Debra R. Bryson and Charise M. Hoge, Vol. 31, No. 3, (Summer 2008)
The Expatriate Observer: A Publication of ORC Worldwide, ‘Identity in Transition: Maintaining Your Sense of Self Overseas’, Debra R. Bryson and Charise M. Hoge, Vol. 29, No. 1, (Winter 2006)
Honors
Recognized at the U.S. Department of State for being a contributing author of Realities of Foreign Service Life, Vol. 2 (2010)
Distinguished Honor: Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, A Portable Identity recognized and placed on the Foreign Service Reading List, (March 2004)
Foreign Service Journal, Featured author ‘In Their Own Write: Focus on Foreign Service Authors’, (November 2003)
