A nave teenage girl in her senior year of high school comes home to find all her belongings packed and sitting on the front porch. Airstreams abusive father, who silently laments the loss of his baseball career, and a mother, who lives in a world convinced she is Cleopatra before Cleopatra was Cleopatra, have decided Air is a commie-pinko since she reads Ramparts and the Berkeley Barb. From an early age, Air realized in order to survive her bizarre family life she had to protect her authentic self. Whimsical, innately talented, and fiercely independent by nature, Air struggles to piece her life together as she finds herself continually caught in youve-got-to-be-kidding-me circumstances. The author marvelously portrays heart-rending stories with wit and humor. Despite being emotionally abandoned by her parents, Air becomes an engrossing, strong and fascinating young woman, determined to be a successful artist without any formal training. Ingenious and persistent, Air is on a mission to confront her demons and multi-personalities, surmounting the endless, inexplicable far-fetched absurdly funny bumps in the road to prove she is lovable and worthy of love. Airs life path is far from normal.

"Everyone's got a story to tell. If your story involves growing up among different cultures - either moving between them or having them move around you - then read this book. Growing up and transitioning cross-culturally can present unexpected challenges and bestow surprising skills. This is a book of adventures that helped me identify some of those challenges and realize some of those skills. Hopefully it can help you too - which is important because you've got more to contribute to the world than you realize." "Once, down a dark alleyway, a struggling TCK bumped into a mysterious Zen master, a grinning comedian, and an author of thrillers. That alleyway and those personas reside at O'Shaughnessy's center. Get ready to grab your seat to steady your heart and to avoid falling over with laughter." Douglas W. Ota Author, Safe Passage: What Mobility Does to People & What International Schools Should Do About It "I wish this book had been written when I was younger." Ruth E Van Reken Co-author, Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds "O'Shaughnessy's does a marvelous job of covering the characteristics of the Third Culture Kid with riveting examples taken from his own life. Thanks for this valuable addition to the TCK literature and most importantly, the teen TCK." Lois J Bushong Author, Belonging Everywhere & Nowhere: Insights into Counseling the Globally Mobile "O'Shaughnessy skillfully approaches cross-cultural upbringings and transitions with insight, compassion and humorous tales of identity, connection, community, belonging and resilience." Linda A Janssen, Author, The Emotionally Resilient Expat: Engage, Adapt and Thrive Across Cultures "Every TCK who is a junior or senior in high school should read this book before going off to college or living on their own." Delana H Stewart, Education Consultant