A safari is about more than snapping photos of big cats and roaming seemingly untouched land, at least according to Jennifer New and her depiction of one TCK turned activist.
Instead, a safari is a unique journey about discovery and new beginnings. In New’s biography about Dan Eldon, Safari as a Way of Life, the reader is taken on a journey through the late photojournalist’s life — from his early childhood in London to his adolescence in Nairobi, Kenya to his early adulthood on countless continents to the end of his brief time on earth, which came on July 12, 1993 while he was covering the famine and war in Somalia for Reuters.
Similar to the story of many TCKs, Eldon’s is one about the steps he took to become a world traveler, activist, artist, photojournalist and overall inspiration. Many of these steps were shaped by his instrinsic TCK traits. Born to an American mother and a British father, Eldon naturally embraced the differences in people’s backgrounds, as life bouncing from one culture to another exposed him to a variety of people, places and cultures. However, Eldon was often overloaded with information and often seeking alone time to process exactly what was happening around him.
This book is both an art enthusiast’s reverie, as well as an exhibition of the innermost thoughts of a TCK as he’s experiencing the world.
Published in 2011, Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life is as important and as relevant as ever during these turbulent times, in which we currently live. A must-read for any third culture kid, this work explores how one TCK’s influential childhood experiences, which shaped him into a courageous photojournalist, can influence the masses. Through the many artistic and journalist masterpieces Eldon created in his 22 years, New constructs a book that is both a shrine to his talent, as well as a call to action — pleading with audiences to pay attention to the slanted state of the world.
This book is both an art enthusiast’s reverie, as well as an exhibition of the innermost thoughts of a TCK as he’s experiencing the world. Although Eldon’s life was cut short, his story has led to the birth of many projects seeking to showcase his images and his message of sharing the diversities of the world with audiences everywhere.
Dan Eldon’s heroism is evident through his activist take on photojournalism.
I am not familiar with Dan Eldon or his book, but if it is a must read for TCK’s, it could potentially be an influential and educational way to inform non-TCK’s of the lifestyle and the world too, opening them up to the diversities of the world.
I was not familiar with Dan Eldon and his written piece before reading this article but as a TCK myself it sounds like it would be a great read! I find it inspiring to read that even after he passed, others were inspired to write about their experiences just as he did!
Even though this may be a book specifically targeted towards TCKs, I think non-TCKs should read books like this to understand the different types of people that live in the world, and to get to read their different experiences and thoughts and how they feel about the world.
I loved reading your article. I was unfamiliar with Dan Eldon and his book. TCK experiences are significant for all people to understand and Dan Eldon’s story is important enough for non-TCKS and TCKs to familiarize themselves with.
Even though I am not a TCK, I am interested in this book as I love photography and travel. It is really cool that it also includes his story and I would love to read more about it since he was so inspirational to people that there was a book written about him after he passed!
This book sounds like a very inciteful reading into Dan Eldon’s TCK traits as someone who used those experiences to inform how he lived and participated as a global citizen. I wasn’t familiar with him before reading your article but now I want to read this book in order to gain a more holistic vision of what activism looks like when viewed through a TCK lens.