5 stars for Foreigner In My Own Backyard: A Satirical Memoir by @TravisCasey1074 #bookreview #expats
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  • N. N. Light
    • May 22, 2020
    • 2 min read

5 stars for Foreigner In My Own Backyard: A Satirical Memoir by @TravisCasey1074 #bookreview #expats



Title: Foreigner In My Own Backyard: A Satirical Memoir

Author: Travis Casey

Genre: Memoir, Satire, Humor

Book Blurb:


A family crisis brings Travis Casey back to the land he used to call home after living in England for the past two decades. His parents need him – not as a carer as he expected, but as someone to drive them from Florida back to their home in Minnesota. Just as well; he’s not a caring person, but he is a damn good driver. But the country is not how he left it… Casey uses his own brand of humor to explore what has changed in America since he lived there – that’s when he’s not recounting the chaos that occurs as he attempts to re-establish himself as an American. He discovers that entering the United States with his British wife is more difficult than he had anticipated. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. --Chinese Proverb

A journey of seven thousand miles begins with a trip to the US Embassy -- Travis Casey Experience

My Review:


When Travis’ parents ask for his help, he packs up his life in Britain and moves back to America. Both he and his British wife are in for an adventure of a lifetime as ex-pats trying to assimilate as Americans. As they overcome each obstacle, they learn the most valuable lesson of all: be flexible and keep your sense of humor.

Travis Casey is a satirist and in his own blend of British and American humor, he sheds light on what it means to be an ex-pat trying to adjust to life across the Pond. I found his humor to be side-splitting and quite enjoyable. His views on how America has changed in twenty years are spot-on and I found myself nodding in agreement. The family dynamics between his parents and his wife had me in stitches one minute and thoughtful the next. Expats around the world will relate to Travis Casey.

If you’re a fan of Bill Bryson, you will want to read Foreigner in My Own Backyard. Hilarious, insightful, humorous, and a must-read. Highly recommend!

My Rating: 5 stars

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Author Biography:


Born into a middle-class family in Midwest America, I had a normal upbringing for a preacher's kid moving from town to town every 3-5 years. That bred living in eight cities in five states by the time I was eighteen. So traveling and moving got into my blood. I left Indiana and joined the Navy and began on world travels. After sowing my oats on a Western Pacific Navy deployment, I married an Australian-raised Brit who has ping-ponged across oceans with me for the past 34 years. We've lived in Hawaii, Scotland, Seattle, England, Minnesota, back to England, and back to Minnesota where I reside today—but for how long who knows.

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Reviewed by: Mrs. N

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