Between Worlds

An Expat’s Quest for Belonging

By: Inga Aksamit

Narrated by: Elizabeth Liang

What happens when a child grows up between worlds, never fully belonging anywhere? In this compelling memoir, Inga Aksamit takes listeners on a journey across four continents as she navigates life as the daughter of an international engineer during the turbulent 1960s and '70s.

From age four, when she nearly loses her mother on a Tokyo train platform, through harrowing military evacuations from Pakistan and Bangladesh, Inga's childhood is marked by constant change and adaptation. She attends nine schools before high school, learning to make friends quickly while knowing each goodbye might be permanent. In Peru, she faces life-threatening illness while her father works in the remote Sechura Desert. Back in California, she struggles to fit into suburban life, carrying the invisible scars of her expatriate youth.

Through it all, she grapples with questions of identity and belonging. Is home the place where her doll Chuz sits on her bed, or is it somewhere deeper within? How does a child process trauma when the adults around her treat upheaval as adventure? And how does that child grow into an adult capable of lasting relationships?

Written with unflinching honesty and vivid detail, Between Worlds captures both the privilege and the pain of a Third Culture Kid's experience. Aksamit's story illuminates the complexity of growing up across cultures while offering hope for finding connection and belonging. This intimate memoir will resonate with anyone who has ever felt caught between identities or searched for a place to call home.

©2025 The Publishing Circle (P)2025 Inga Aksamit

what an observant child

This powerful memoir explores identity, displacement, and belonging with striking emotional honesty. The author’s empathy, present from childhood onward, gives the narrative unusual depth and tenderness. I was especially moved by the portrayal of the parents. The story feels refreshingly original.

Living between cultures

Having had an expat childhood myself, this book captured the complexities of living in different cultures, learning how to adapt and make friends quickly but never feeling that deep sense of belonging. The author’s description of the emotions, identity shifts and personal growth associated with being uprooted from a new social group only to have to learn the nuances of another culture and social group once again were honest and insightful. But this was not only a book of self- reflection. The author also described the political tensions in the countries she lived in and how that affected the populace.
The narration is engaging and well paced with added subtle accents.

Couldn’t put this book down

So enjoyed Inga’s fascinating story of growing up in this interesting, scary, different than most’s life. Her journey is one that I felt I was following with her around each corner. Even though the reader wasn’t my favorite, the story is too compelling to put down. I thank Inga for her bravery in bringing us into this fascinating way of growing up and finding herself throughout. I recommend this read of Between Worlds to all.