Goodbye… and Hello: What to Read During Times of Transition
Updated: Aug 9
As I write this post, my family and I are 30,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, two hours from Honolulu, our new home.
We spent the past month preparing all of our belongings for this move—first whittling down, then sorting, and finally boxing and loading until all that remained inside our home in Maryland were echoes.
For military families like mine, moving every few years becomes routine. Almost seasonal. We know how to pack up, say goodbye, hold it together as best we can, and keep a stiff upper lip as we move forward to the next home.
But deep down, we always long for a place we can truly belong. Sometimes we (both kids and adults) dream openly about some wistful “forever home.” And saying goodbye never gets any easier. We just collect, year after year, transition after transition, an arsenal of coping strategies.
We look forward to a chance to start fresh. To forget past mistakes. To explore. To find new friends. And every so often, for those of us who’ve been at this nomadic lifestyle for long enough, there are those blessed moments when our paths crisscross with an old friend from a never-forgotten place.
Those are the moments when we realize that the world isn’t quite as big as we thought. When we begin to understand that we do belong somewhere. And that our community—our crazy, transient, military-family community, is a global one. With this understanding, we can find a way to belong anywhere.
"You only are free when you realize you belong no place - you belong every place - no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great." —Maya Angelou
Books About Transition and Belonging*
*As always, since I am a Bookshop affiliate, I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you!) if you click through and purchase a book through the Bookshop links below.
By Brené Brown
A few years ago at a USO event, someone handed me a copy of Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. I admit. I tucked it away on my TBR list, got busy, and forgot about it. This month, I plucked it off the bookshelf while organizing for the move and… I’ve never felt so seen. For anyone who’s ever felt the pain of belonging nowhere, and also desperately aching to belong somewhere, please don’t make the mistake I made. Read it today.
By Jerry Craft
Instead of moving to a new state—or even city—Jordan has an opportunity to go to a private school way outside of his comfort zone, Washington Heights, and everything familiar. In this Newberry Medal and Coretta Scott King Author Award-winning graphic novel, readers get to walk through Jordan’s experience as he struggles—then triumphs—to find true belonging while staying true to himself.
By Meg Medina, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez
To me, the picture book companion to Braving the Wilderness would be Meg Medina’s Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away. Both are books for moving away and times of transition that speak to my heart. With one tiny, heartbreaking (and then heart-bursting) moment, this story captures the goodbye and hello that are at the very heart of discovering true belonging—everywhere and nowhere all at once.
By Margaret Wise, illustrated by Ann James
A child experiences all of their “lasts,” at the old house: the last time they’ll “swing on this gate” or “eat at this table,” followed immediately by all of the “firsts” at the new house: the first time they’ll “push open this gate” or “climb up this tree.” Sometimes, we all need a reminder that “hello” is right on the other side of the door we close when we say goodbye.
By Lisa Brown
As an older brother tells his little sister about all of their past moves, from a tiny apartment to a slightly larger home, and finally to their newest home. All the while, the reader gets to experience the process of moving—the boxes, the moving truck, and the empty homes that fill with belongings, experiences, and, ultimately, growth.
By Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López
On the first day of school, each child has their own way of wondering how they’ll ever fit in—whether it’s the way they spent the summer (at home, while everyone else traveled), or the sound of their accent, or that they aren’t invited to play the game. It’s only once they start to ask questions and notice individuality that the kids finally begin to see the connections that were there all along.
🌴Aloha!🌴
