They wanted to live on their own terms. Moving halfway across the world would challenge every inch of their beliefs.
Australia, 1984. Heather Hackett struggles to please anyone. With her husband desperate for adventure and her parents demanding they settle down, her loyalty is torn. Ultimately giving in to her partner’s free spirit, she loads up their baby and a few backpacks to emigrate with … to emigrate with him to Japan.
Though she’s keen for the dramatic change of scenery, Heather quickly discovers relocating abroad without a plan is a difficult business. With no jobs and no understanding of the language, she finds herself digging through garbage just to survive. And her spouse’s relentless drive to keep traveling is destined to bring more trouble…
This true account of Heather’s personal journey raising her family in a strange land with little support will take you deep into the heart of a young mother’s conflicts. Told warts and all, you’ll laugh and cry alongside the couple as they try to create an extraordinary and unconventional future from humble beginnings.
Gaijin Live Next Door: Eight Years in Japan is the enthralling second book in the Ten Years From Home memoir series. If you like profound honesty, fascinating cultural insights, and the real day-to-day hurdles of persevering as an expat, then you’ll love Heather Hackett’s inspiring story.
Buy Gaijin Live Next Door: Eight Years in Japan to throw caution to the wind today!
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Just the type of book I like!
I loved Heather Hackett’s first book, RESTLESS: MEMOIR OF AN INCURABLE TRAVELLER. I looked forward to reading more from her, and I wasn’t disappointed. I really enjoyed her new memoir.
At the start of this book, Heather and James are back from their adventure. And everything has changed. They have changed. I could see they would end up travelling again. They were back in Australia after a year of travels. By this time Heather was six months pregnant-her family having just found out about their impending happy event. They returned from their travels to have a home birth.
Things were awkward at home with her mum trying to tell her how she should care for her baby etc. So they moved to Perth, 4,000 km away, a three day bus journey, with son Mani just six weeks old. Jobs should be easier to come by there. Alas, they weren’t, so they then decided to go to Korea to be English teachers. They would be gone for more than eight years.
It was very interesting reading about the different way they do things, e.g. shoes, when there should be no shoes, slippers, and bathroom shoes! So interesting finding out about their different ways, customs, how they do things.
The book contains some of her journal entries as well. These are in italics so as to separate from the main part of the book. The format is mainly a chapter-and then an entry from her journal about the same time/circumstances. Some could think this is a bit repetitive, but it suited me, as I read the book shortly before Christmas and had to keep reluctantly leaving it to get on with the festive preparations. So, it was good to keep having a reminder; easier to get back into after each gap.
I really enjoyed reading about travel, living and working in a foreign country, medical, relationship issues etc. Travels cover Japan, Hong Kong, and Nepal. A very good book, very enjoyable.
I read Heather Hackett’s first book RESTLESS so was thrilled to see she has written a second book. GAIJIN LIVE NEXT DOOR records her experience of living in Japan for eight years.
Heather has a restlessness in her that makes her want to go from country to country absorbing the views, the people, the cultures. Unlike many people outside their comfort zones, Heather showed appreciation and respect for other cultures. In her beautifully written journal she reveals the good and not so good that she encountered. Some experiences were quite frustrating and put a strain on their marriage, but somehow they persevered. While I too love to travel I have never had a desire to visit Japan. But I did enjoy reading about the culture of the people and the beautiful scenery.
I chuckled through her stories of catching her skirt in her bike’s chain and resorting to strangers to cut her free, and having a woman who had fallen in the mud rush into Heather’s house to clean up and “borrow her washing machine”. Heather holds nothing back in writing her thoughts and opinions regarding her encounters.
I am amazed at how she and her husband were able to travel with first a baby, then a toddler, and later two children. Her children gained an education of the world that few children ever experience.
The book alternates between her narrative and her journal entries, and sometimes the two got repetitive. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful story of her travels.