Uprooted: A Guide for Homesick Christians

This book was so encouraging and helpful. I had no idea that what I have been feeling since the move of our family is so common. This book seemed like it was written just for me! It is full of practical advice as well as truths that helped me shift my focus from my feelings to my responsibility and from my fears to the reality of God's love and faithfulness. So many great quotes, but one that I appreciated, "There is Someone who left His home so that we could spend eternity in His. Every pang of homesickness should point us to heaven, which we will never leave, and which we will enjoy with everyone else for whom Jesus died. More than that, we will spend all of our time in our eternal home praising the Savior who brought us home."

This book help me feel calmer about moving, and also gave some insights into understanding home sickness. I think it’s encouraging for someone about to move or recently moved. It is simple, supportive, and God centered!

Thank you, Rebecca, for writing this book! It spoke to my heart. I permanently moved to Mexico with my husband (he is from Mexico) and I have had a difficult time adjusting. The first year was actually pretty easy and we had a lot of fun, but then we moved to the capital, Mexico City, because of his work and I have had a very rough time adjusting here because huge cities are just not for us (fortunately, we will be moving somewhere smaller again in a few months!). Anyways, this book was excellent! It said a lot of the hard facts that I needed to hear as well as provided tips for improvement. I do admit, I made a lot of the mistakes mentioned, but having that pointed out to me was helpful. I hope to read this book again on our next move and try to do things right that time. Amazing book! If you ever experience homesickness, then this is an EXCELLENT read!

Having just moved from South Africa to South Korea, I needed a quick and helpful word of wisdom to get my thinking straight. A friend recommended this book to me and I downloaded it to read as soon as a got on the plane. Thank you for taking the time to write this book, it has been a comfort and blessing to me. (And to my husband indirectly-happy wife, happy home!)

This little book far exceeded my expectations and has already helped me feel more settled in my new home.

Very helpful for any Christian missing home. She demonstrates practically what it means to long for heaven and to be a heavenly citizen.

I have moved over a dozen times in the past five years, and I wish this book had been written before our family's most extreme relocation, which took us overseas. I have shelves (or, I should say, packing boxes) full of books on issues indirectly linked to homesickness, like contentment, minimalism/simple living, faithfulness during difficulty, and parenting on the move. All of them were helpful, and some of them were also mildly spiritually edifying. But until I read Uprooted, I had never heard anyone speak of moving as an opportunity to prepare for dying well. To face transition is to face something like death. This cuts to the heart of the anxiety and emotional paralysis that homesickness can cause. By sharing this insight, Vandoodewaard shows readers how to act courageously and grow spiritually through homesickness. She neither pampers nor downplays the strong emotions involved, but reminds us of why we feel homesick in the first place: because paradise was lost in Adam's fall. We long for a perfect, permanent spot to call home because that is precisely what we were created to have. Small-scale homesickness echoes our large-scale desire to return to the garden of Eden. This understanding of the problem gives Vandoodewaard true empathy for the homesick. So does her own experience with multiple moves, which drove her to the works of past saints who recorded their struggles with feeling displaced (she shares excellent quotes throughout the book). She also draws upon her work with international students, as well as her observations of uprooted friends and family. The book certainly is "practical" in the usual sense of the word. Vandoodewaard notes habits and thought patterns that tend to either intensify or combat homesickness, and stresses the importance of cultivating the latter. But hard times call for good theology, and this book demonstrates that sound doctrine is practical! Vandoodewaard reminds us that to truly conquer homesickness, we need to focus on the promises of God. Homesickness, while difficult, can result in tremendous blessing. It can loosen our grip on earthly things, show us the all-sufficiency of Christ in our weakness, and cause us to long instead for the everlasting home the Lord is preparing for us. Uprooted would be an edifying read (or a great gift) for any Christian who is facing or has recently experienced a move. The book devotes three separate chapters to dealing with special cases: fighting homesickness in the pastorate, while single, and while raising children. I found that Vandoodewaard's insights applied to the dramatic culture shock I encountered in my first few months of living overseas. But the book also speaks to more "vanilla" sorts of moves, such as relocating to the other side of the state or leaving home to attend college. Best of all, it's eminently packable--there's no excuse for not slipping this one into your suitcase on the way out the door!