Stepmothers

Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do

A groundbreaking and truly stepmother-centered way of understanding the tensions that seem to define relations between women and their stepchildren

Half of all women in the United States will live with or marry a man with children. And what woman with stepchildren has not—in order to defuse the often overwhelming challenges of the role—referred to herself as a “stepmonster”?

As Hope Edelman does in her book for motherless daughters, Wednesday Martin’s empowering and original Stepmonster unlocks the emotional mysteries of why stepmothers think and feel and act the way they do. Martin draws upon her own experience as a stepmother, interviews with other stepmothers and stepchildren, and fascinating insights from literature, anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology to reveal the little-understood realities of this most demanding role.

Stepmonster illuminates the harrowing process of becoming a stepmother, considers the myths and realities of being married to a man with children, counteracts the cultural notion that stepmothers are solely responsible for the challenges they encounter, identifies the “Five Step-Dilemmas That Create Conflict,” and considers the emotional and social challenges men with children face when they remarry.

Finally, in an unexpected twist, Martin shows why the myth of the Wicked Stepmother is our single best tool for understanding who real stepmothers are and how they feel.

Read more…Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do

	The Single Girl’s Guide to Marry… by Sally Bjornsen $10.08
	No One’s the Bitch: A Ten-Step P… by Jennifer Newcomb Marine $12.20
	The Enlightened Stepmother: Revo… by Perdita K. Norwood $10.85

Support groups for step mothers

Do you know of any support groups for stepmothers?

Please leave a comment listing the support group or groups that you are aware of.

Don’t forget you can get online support via the Stepfamily Zone Forums

Encouraging Words for New Stepmothers

“Being a stepmother is like setting your hair on fire and then putting it out with a hammer!” Such description is what lead therapist and author, Jean McBride, M.S., LMFT, to write “Encouraging Words for New Stepmothers.”

Readers will glean sage advice and renewed hope for managing the new stepmother role from this portable paperback support system.

The 51 up-lifting essays in “Encouraging Words for New Stepmothers” contain a wealth of research-based information founded on real life experiences, for dealing with the challenges and complexities of stepparenting.

Written in a style reminiscent of sitting down to tea with a knowledgeable, caring friend, these reader-friendly essays offer a tonic for the soul for the stepmother and those who support her.

Read more…Stepfamily Australia: Stepmother: Encouraging Words for New Stepmothers