Posts
Izzy Rose (Stepmother's Milk blog and Author of The Package Deal: My (Not-So) Glamorous Transition from Single Gal to Instant Mom).A brief description of Izzy's book:
In today’s version of Sex and the City, Mr. Big would have kids, and Carrie Bradshaw would look and sound a lot like Izzy Rose, a hilarious and chic new stepmother trying to come to terms with “the package deal.” On any given day, 1,300 women agree to join the ranks of the 15 million and counting stepmothers currently living in the United States, and THE PACKAGE DEAL: My (Not-So) Glamorous Transition from Single Gal to Instant Mom (A Three Rivers Press Original/ May 5, 2009) chronicles one woman’s outrageously funny and poignant journey from sophisticated, single gal in San Francisco to married with (step)children in Texas, where she reinvents the stepmother role for a new generation of daring, confident women.
Falling in love turns many women’s lives upside down, but for the millions of women who fall for men with children from previous relationships, love often leaves them wondering how they ended up raising another woman’s kids. At 35, Izzy was a successful TV producer, living the good life as a “middle-class socialite” in San Francisco. She’s perfectly content to be unmarried and kidless—and then along comes Hank, an irresistible Southern gentleman with two kids of his own. In the parenting department, she’s a total amateur, but she does bring one strength to the new arrangement: she speaks the blended family language. She was a stepkid herself.
Wednesday Martin, Ph.D. (WednesdayMartin.com and Author of Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do (Houghton Mifflin)).
A brief description of Wednesday's book:
How many times have you picked up a book for stepmothers--only to find that its focus is how you can make things better for the kids and their dad? How often have you sought out support and sympathy--only to get an earful of "you shoulds"? Wednesday Martin, a parenting journalist, stepfamily researcher, and stepmother, believed it was time that someone explore stepmothering in a new way--from the stepmother's point of view. Stepmonster asks how repartnering with a man with kids affects her — psychologically, socially, economically. It also sets out to explode the myths—like the myth of the blended family and the myth of the maternal stepmother—that have clouded our view of who women with stepchildren are and what they ought to be able to accomplish. Far more than mere replacement parents, Martin insists, women with stepchildren of any age are people first, with their own emotional and cultural baggage to bear.Going far beyond the usual perfunctory recipes for “how to do it better,” Stepmonster is truly stepmother-centric. It offers real life stories of women with stepchildren gleaned from interviews; first-person confessions from an author who has been there; perspectives from fields like anthropology and evolutionary biology; and a readable synthesis of the psychological and sociological literature on stepmothering, allowing women with stepchildren to see themselves as part of a larger story that is rich in meaning and social significance. On a practical level, Stepmonster suggests, in an unexpected twist, that the Wicked Stepmother may actually be our single best tool for understanding ourselves, and for finding a way to navigate through the stepmothering difficulties that can threaten to overwhelm us. Whether you’re a new stepmother or have been at it for decades, Stepmonster is sure to surprise you—and provide the compassion and understanding you deserve.
Available for pre-order from on-line booksellers now, and in bookstores on May 4.
Jacquelyn B. Fletcher (writer of the blog BecomingAStepmom.com and Author of Career Girl's Guide to Becoming a Stepmom).
A brief description of Jacquelyn's book:
You have an exciting, fulfilling job. You've fallen in love with the man of your dreams—and met his three kids! Now what? In this award-winning book Jacquelyn B. Fletcher shows how any professional woman turned wife and instant stepmother can build on the skills she employs at work—organization, team-building, goal-setting, and planning—to succeed at home in her new role as stepmom. Drawing on the latest research, her own experiences, and those of other real-life stepmothers, Fletcher offers advice, hope, encouragement, and much-needed answers to common conundrums, including:- Why don't I have control over my own schedule?
- What kind of relationship do I want with my stepkids?
- What if I want to have a baby of my own?
- How do we create a budget that feels fair if I make more money than my husband does?
Brenda Ockun, president and publisher of StepMom Magazine
A brief description of Stepmom Magazine:
StepMom Magazine is an on-line publication exclusively for StepMoms. Every month, subscribers receive access to new articles written by counselors, lawyers, subject matter experts and other amazing StepMoms. Subscribers also receive membership to a private support group forum where they can talk together about common interests, concerns and share successes.Jennifer Newcomb Marine and Carol Marine, authors of No One’s the Bitch: A Ten-Step Plan for Mothers and Stepmothers and www.noonesthebitch.com
A brief description of No One's The Bitch No One’s The Bitch is a straight-talking, handholding walk through a very lonely minefield. The authors propose that it's time to stop being so blasé about the hostility and opposition that typically characterize a mother/stepmother relationship, and figure out a way to work together for the sake of the kids. No One’s the Bitch will show people how.
