Welcome to The Inclusion Room — a space where literature, science, and storytelling meet to unlock the power of diversity, inspiring both personal and professional growth.
Dear Readers,
I hope this letter finds you well!
One of Inclusion Room’s ambitions is to create a virtual library of books and resources that will bring together knowledge and insights to:
Empower individuals to embrace their uniqueness and thrive outside the box.
Create a path towards building a more inclusive society for all.
I hope that these resources will offer you additional insights to deepen your reflections.
As part of Inclusion Room's DNA and my multicultural approach, you will find references in different languages.
You can find other posts of this series here:
Today, I’d like to highlight resources on living abroad, turning point in expat life, and the challenge of finding one's place when returning home after expatriation.
Let’s fill the shelves with:
📚 2 books that provide food for thought
📻 1 podcast rich in first-hand experiences
💌 2 selections from the Inclusion Room community that truly resonated with me
📚 Books
Ignorance - Milan Kundera
Kundera is one of my favorite writers. I’ve read everything he wrote. Exiled to France in 1975, the second part of his literary work is in French, including Ignorance. I rarely reread novels, but Ignorance is one of the few exceptions.
Kundera perfectly captures the mechanics of feelings tied to origins.
As an exile, he watches his characters get entangled in the dynamics of return with a sense of benevolence.
This novel is like a taut rope, pulling the reader straight to where it hurts: the misunderstanding of return.
Even the title is an anatomy of nostalgia:
In Greek, ‘return’ is nostos, and algos means suffering; thus, nostalgia is the suffering caused by the unfulfilled desire to return.
Other languages have words that reveal different nuances, like the longing for one's homeland: homesickness in English, Heimweh in German. In Spanish, añoranza comes from the verb añorar (to long for), and in Catalan, enyorar which comes from the Latin ignorare.
Therefore, nostalgia is, in a way, the suffering of ignorance: when you’re far away, you ignore what’s happening ‘over there’.
This blind force drives Ulysses to leave Calypso and return to Penelope and Ithaca. But in Irena’s reality, the novel's main character, life in Prague has moved on, and people forget. Just like her lover, who has forgotten her, but she needs the memory to anchor herself to her past.
Nostalgia is a tyrant that plays with the memories of exiles. The suffering lies not only in the desire to return but also in accepting that things have changed, that memories are often distorted by time, and that, over the years, it becomes difficult to find your place in your own history.
Alma - Federica Manzon
Alma is a powerful novel that explores themes of origins, migration, and identity. Set against the turbulent history of the Balkans in the 1990s, the story delves into the complexity of identity and belonging.
The novel highlights Trieste as a border city, where local identities are deeply influenced by its history and geography. Alma, born there, feels like a foreigner in her own country, caught between different cultures and histories.
Her story intertwines with Vili’s, who emigrated from Belgrade as a child. Their connection deepens as they both navigate the tension between their roots and their new lives. The shadow of the Balkan war shapes their identities and choices.
Alma is still only available in Italian, but stay tuned: it’s a story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled with the concept of home and belonging.
Below is a detailed description of the book in Italian.
Un bellissimo romanzo che esplora il tema delle origini e dell'identità.
Si può emigrare rimanendo nello stesso paese ma sentendosi stranieri?
Sì, è sicuramente possibile in Italia, un paese la cui unità è relativamente recente e in cui i regionalismi sono sempre forti. È ancora più vero per coloro che, dalle regioni di frontiera, si spostano verso altre regioni più "centrali".
Le città di frontiera, che hanno vissuto nella respirazione delle guerre e dei giochi di potere, entrando e uscendo da blocchi etno-culturali diversi a geometria variabile per poi stabilizzarsi dentro confini precisi e dietro una lingua nazionale, continuano a vibrare di identità diverse che si mescolano nei suoni delle lingue e negli stili delle facciate.
Alma è nata in una città all’est, Trieste. L’autore non la nomina mai, la indica come "la città", in contrapposizione con "la capitale" dove Alma emigra. La narrazione comincia quando Alma torna in città per recuperare l’eredità del padre. La memoria l’aspetta ad ogni passo. I ricordi emergono e si intrecciano con la storia dei personaggi, fondendosi con il presente.
Alma parla tutte le lingue dei paesi limitrofi, l’italiano è una di quelle. Anche i ricordi hanno ognuno una propria lingua.
"Lei non saprebbe dire dove sta la sua appartenenza, neanche la sua città lo sa: si è pensata sempre parte di una nazione che non era la sua, immaginava l’Austria, sognava il regno degli slavi, e perfino la nazione garibaldina, ma poi è rimasta estranea a tutto e soprattutto a se stessa."
Nella capitale, naviga nelle convenzioni sociali, sentendosi sempre estranea, custode di storie che gli altri non potrebbero capire. Così se le porta dentro, insieme a quello che ha visto con i suoi propri occhi della Storia, dall’altra parte della frontiera, con Vili.
Vili è emigrato da bambino da Belgrado a Trieste. I suoi genitori l’hanno affidato al padre di Alma, che naviga tra "di là" e "di qua" della frontiera. Tra loro si innesca un sentimento profondo radicato proprio in quelle terre di confine.
Il romanzo si sviluppa dentro questa tensione: l’appartenenza al paese d’origine e il legame con il nuovo luogo in cui si è costruita una vita.
La guerra nei Balcani è lo sfondo delle loro storie, ma è anche un personaggio a sé. Cresce e prende spazio accanto alla ricerca d’identità che muove i personaggi e la Storia.
📻 Podcast
Expat au féminin: A Podcast Connecting Women Abroad
What does expat life bring? Self-discovery, challenges, and a journey unlike any other.
Expat au féminin explores these questions through stories from expat women, along with insights from coaches and professionals. More than a guide, it’s a global network of shared experiences and advice.
This podcast is available only in French.
Ful French description here below:
Expat au féminin : le podcast qui relie les femmes à l’étranger
Qu’apporte vraiment l’expatriation ? Découverte de soi, aventure humaine, ou parfois même un grand mystère à élucider ? Expat au féminin explore ces questions avec profondeur et sincérité, en donnant la parole à celles qui vivent l’expérience au quotidien.
À travers des témoignages de femmes expatriées, mais aussi d’experts – coachs, professionnels et accompagnants – ce podcast décortique chaque facette de la vie à l’étranger : les joies, les doutes, les transformations.
Plus qu’un simple guide, c’est un espace où se tisse un véritable réseau de femmes aux quatre coins du monde, partageant expériences et conseils comme le feraient de précieuses amies.
Que l’on soit en quête de repères ou simplement curieuse de comprendre les multiples dimensions de l’expatriation, Expat au féminin éclaire ce voyage intérieur et collectif avec bienveillance et authenticité.
💌 Found on Substack
From Katharina:
What resonated deeply with me: If you’ve read my latest post, you know I’m once again at a turning point in my expat journey. The difference this time? I’ve learned to ask the right questions: the ones that bring clarity. Katarina’s post resonated with me because, like her, I deeply believe that where we live profoundly shapes how we feel. We owe it to ourselves to be in places that bring out the best in us.
What I loved: I recently had the pleasure of discussing with Christine about the challenges of expatriation and what makes this experience so meaningful. She hosts a podcast where she interviews Black women expats, and our conversation echoed two key aspects from her latest episode that truly stuck with me:
Being intentional about the life we build
Creating a space of freedom for self-expression
If you think these reflections might be useful to someone you know, share this post.
Thanks for reading The Inclusion Room, subscribe to receive new post. I hope you enjoyed our time together, and I look forward to seeing you in the next post!
Join the Conversation
I’d love to hear your recommendations for the Inclusion Virtual Library!
What’s the best book or resource you’ve read on themes of diversity, inclusion, or living abroad?
The first two books sound so much that would help "multipotentialite" me! Even contemplated describing myself today as an "digital generalist" on my professional website. But I didn't, people prefer specialists, I find.
I’m glad the recommendation will be helpful for you! I believe the preference for specialists will shift as AI takes over more specialized tasks — so let’s keep cultivating a generalist mindset!