Eminently readable, deeply moving, and very revealing, Japan Brats: The Youth Who Bridged Opposite Worlds is an important contribution to the literature concerning military families, with applicability also to studies of adolescence, cultural transition, military occupation, family dynamics, and the development of self in relation to society. This remarkable project holds a mirror to a previously missing piece of history.
The testimonies gathered here are precious. Not only that, but the author has done exhaustive work to put these stories into historical and social context--an effort which greatly rewards anyone seeking to understand the period covered, or gain insight into military brat cultural identity. Thank you, Michael Weddington, for shining a light on this extraordinary part of the brat experience. Well done!
A great, important, and captivating read. Japan Brats: The Youth Who Bridged Opposite Worlds, occupies a unique place in the world of Third Culture Kid (TCK) writings. It is perhaps the most longitudinal study done to document long term outcomes of those who were raised among many different cultural worlds—not only geographically, but within the culture of the military system itself.
Although it is based on extensive research in a particular cohort, I found the charm of Michael Weddington’s writing to be how he writes the results of that research in storybook form rather than a manual. Yet, within each story is embedded various recountings of common characteristics David C. Pollock later identified as part of his classic ‘TCK Profile.’ Most adult TCKs will surely nod their heads (as I did!) in empathetic understanding when reading of the struggle to return to their passport country or the delight in finding their past and present worlds come together in a particular cuisine.
But there is a sober reminder in these set of books as well. Certainly, every person’s life is lived within the context of their time in history and the surrounding culture in which they were raised. Many TCKs however, live in the places where the events they see first-hand will one day be in their children or their grandchildren’s history books. Reading this work made clear again that real people just like me are always involved in the horrors of war and its aftermath. Seeing it through the eyes of children makes it even more poignant.
It is also a story of resilience and hope—that this is not where people are stuck. The amazing ways that Japan Brats have knit together the many pieces of their multi-cultured upbringing for their personal good, for the good of others, and for the good of international understanding despite initially seeing those they went to and being seen by them as the ‘enemy,’ gives hope. With their example before us, we can dare to believe the struggles each of us face daily in our current world can become the foundation for growth and healing for us as it was for them.
Thank you, Michael and all who participated in this work.
Japan Brats: The Youth Who Bridged Opposite Worlds, is a monumental labor of love that I—as a former military kid who spent part of my youth in Japan—read with tears in my eyes and a new understanding of the power of representation. Through a kaleidoscopic accretion of experiences and perspectives, Weddington miraculously creates a tribute that will make those of us “born into the military” (who are too often invisible to the culture at large) feel truly seen. Perhaps, for the first time.
