# Autism and Living Abroad Finding Home in Yourself

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-neurodivergent-connection-the-curious-storyteller-4254621/autism-and-living-abroad-finding-home-in-yourself
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-neurodivergent-connection-the-curious-storyteller-4254621/autism-and-living-abroad-finding-home-in-yourself.md
Podcast: [The Neurodivergent Connection / The Curious Storyteller](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-neurodivergent-connection-the-curious-storyteller-4254621)
Published: 2026-06-19T17:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcast.ausha.co/neurodivergentconnection-thecuriousstroyteller/autism-and-living-abroad-finding-home-in-yourself
Audio file: https://pdcn.co/e/https://audio.ausha.co/kk27VUA4LZYz.mp3?t=1780153539
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-neurodivergent-connection-the-curious-storyteller-4254621/episodes/autism-and-living-abroad-finding-home-in-yourself
Duration seconds: 3517

## Resource

What Happens to Home, Identity, and Grief When You Build a Life Abroad? What if starting over in a new country doesn’t just change your address, but brings you face to face with who you really are? In this episode, I sit down with Melissa Parks to talk about living abroad, coming home, and the quiet emotional weight that can come with both. We explore what happens when the life you once wanted turns out to be harder than expected, especially for autistic and neurodivergent people trying to make sense of belonging, masking, grief, and identity. Melissa shares how travel, culture, language, and big life transitions shaped the person she became, and why returning home can feel just as disorienting as leaving. Along the way, I also open up about my own experiences studying overseas, traveling alone, and trying to find comfort in unfamiliar places. You’ll hear us unpack the difference between being unhappy and being uprooted, why grief is so often mistaken for failure, and what “home” really means when your heart lives in more than one place. About the Guest Melissa Parks is a writer, coach, and author of A Compassionate Mess . She works with people navigating life across borders, languages, and cultures, with a thoughtful focus on identity, belonging, and emotional well-being. Key Timestamps 0:02 - I welcome Melissa Parks and we begin with her early picture of adulthood 1:06 - We talk about what “home” meant before life abroad 14:44 - Melissa shares when living abroad became real, not temporary 16:21 - We compare traveling to actually building a life in another country 19:27 - We explore whether living abroad changes us or reveals who we already are 27:13 - Melissa explains why people feel guilt when a chosen life feels hard 29:40 - We discuss how grief often gets mistaken…

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## Transcript

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