Recommended Reading List

• The Stepfamily: Living, Loving & Learning
  by Elizabeth Einstein
  Published by Shambhala Publications
  
  A stepchild herself and twice a stepmother, Elizabeth Einstein offers information and advice on how this special kind of family can realize its vast potential for happiness and fullfillment.
  Among the challenges she explores are:
  
  • The stigma carried by stepchildren as products of a "broken home"
  • The guilt that parents feel as they attempt to impose feelings of love on their spouse's children
    
  • The difficulties in building new relationships
    
  • Problems with ex-husbands and -wives
    
  • The mourning for the original family group that may aggravate an already volatile situation
  
  By exploring the origins of the difficulties stepfamilies face, The Stepfamily affords a better understanding of how to overcome them. Above all, this sensitive look into stepfamily living will remind stepparents and stepchildren that their problems are by no means unique -- and by no means insurmountable.
  
  
• Step-Parenting: Understanding the Emotional Problems and Stresses
  by Christine Atkinson
  Published by Thorsons Publishing Group
  
  In the light of current divorce statistics, it is inevitable that more and more people contemplating marriage will be gaining a ready-made family as well as a partner.
  Christine Atkinson outlines the problems that can arise and offers sensible advice on all aspects of family life, from the moment the marriage is planned to the integration of the family unit.
  A step-parent herself, the author presents a clear view of the practical and emotional difficulties involved, and balances the picture with comments from step-children, which every step-parent will read with recognition and new understanding.
  
  
• The Combined Family : A Guide to Creating Successful Step-Relationships
  by Taube S. Kaufman, Glenn D. Slovenko, Helen Coale
  Published by Plenum Pub Corp
  
  Synopsis:
  In this essential guide to understanding individual family roles and the nuances within step-relationships, Kaufman empathetically details the hopelessness of children as they deal with the loss of a past family life, while adjusting to a new household of dual expectations. Glossary of creative terms included.
  
  
• Developing Healthy Stepfamilies : Twenty Families Tell Their Stories (Haworth Marriage & the Family)
  by Patricia, Phd Kelley
  Published by Haworth Press Booknews, Inc.
  
  Addresses the differences between biologically based families and stepfamilies, focusing on a set of stepfamilies which are "working" and showing the many ways in which they function in areas such as discipline, money, relationships with ex-spouses and their families, and the development of new traditions. Twenty families share their stories of how they inserted creative solutions to common stepfamily problems.
  
  
• Living in a Step Family Without Getting Stepped on : Helping Your Children Survive the Birth Order Blender
  by Kevin Leman
  Published by Thomas Nelson
  
  Synopsis:
  A guide for stepparents whose children's birth orders have been changed by the presence of new siblings offers advice on role confusion, concepts of self, and building a parenting team.
  
  
• Making It As a Stepparent : New Roles/New Rules
  by Claire Berman
  Published by HarperCollins
  From the Publisher :
  "An excellent guide to help the remarried couple understand their situation. It gets rave reviews."--Roger B. Burt, Ph.D., President, Stepfamily Association of America
  
  
• The New American Family
  by Mary A. Artlip, Earl S. Saltzman, James A. Artlip
  Published by Starburst Publishers
  Synopsis:
  Based on the results of a 10-page questionnaire filled out by over 500 stepparents from 47 states, this book reveals the problems that usually occur when two ready made families join through remarriage and offers tools for strengthening such step-families.
  
  
• Positive Discipline for Blended Families : Nurturing Harmony, Respect, and Unity in Your New Stepfamily (Positive Discipline Library)
  by Jane Nelsen, Cheryl Erwin, H. Stephen Glenn
  Published by Prima Publishing
  
  Book Description :
  A million new stepfamilies form each year, and none of these blended families makes the adjustment unscathed. Most encounter many difficulties, from deep-seated emotional trauma to the minor skirmishes that every family faces every day. They'll find solid, tested advice here on how to overcome the problems and accentuate the rewards of their new relationships.
  Synopsis:
  A much-needed addition to the Positive Discipline Series, this book helps step-families with the kind of practical, useful information needed for creating harmonious step-relationships. This encouraging guide will help any family build a new identity based on trust and respect.
  
  
• Stepfamily Realities : How to Overcome Difficulties and Have a Happy Family
  by Margaret Newman
  Published by New Harbinger Pubns
  
  Synopsis:
  Providing practical information and effective advice, this helpful guidebook helps stepfamilies understand and cope with the special problems and issues that arise in new family relationships.
  
  
• Stepmotherhood : How to Survive Without Feeling Frustrated, Left Out, or Wicked
  by Cherie Burns
  Published by HarperCollins
  
  Parenting and Childbirth Editor's Recommended Book, 11/01/97:
  The role of stepmother has long been maligned--just think of Cinderella's or Snow White's stepmothers. Since 1985 when Cheri Burns published this funny, helpful book, stepmothers have felt relieved and no longer so alone. Burns, a stepmother herself, wrote the book to help fellow travelers understand the dynamics and conflicts of their role and navigate the stormy waters of "Expectations," "Guilt," "The Wicked Ex-Wife," "Discipline," "Vacations," and more. Stepmotherhood remains a vital guide for any woman who is either contemplating stepmotherhood or who is already there.
  Synopsis:
  A reassuring, down-to-earth guide to thriving and surviving in the much misunderstood role of stepmother.
  From the Publisher :
  A sensitive, realistic handbook for the country'slarge, increasing population of stepmothers. "Part of the book's charm is its avoidance of glib reassurance and false cheer. Instead, there is healthy common sense."--Publishers Weekly
  
  
• You're a Stepparent...Now What? : A Guide to Parenting in Families With Nonbiological Children
  by Joseph Cerquone
  Published by New Horizon Press
  
  Midwest Book Review :
  Whether you're a brand new stepparent or have been coping with a stepfamily for some time, an adoptive parent, or even a surrogate, You're A Stepparent. . . Now What?: A Guide To Parenting In Families With Nonbiological Children will provide the skills needed to stay one step ahead in the complex world of "nontraditional" families.
  The subjects covered include how to combine two sets of children without anyone getting "creamed", how to use humor to meet the challenges posed by pre-teens and teenagers, how to defuse potential "hot spots" in your new family, how to create personal space in families with "his, hers, ours and theirs", and how to deal with holidays, birth parents and grandparents.
  Joseph Cerquone writes with an immediacy and clarity that will be greatly appreciated by the reader. You're A Stepparent. . . Now What? will inform, uplift and inspire all types of parents. You're A Stepparent. . . Now What? is also recommended reading for foster parents, group home workers, adult children caring for younger siblings, and grandparents suddenly called upon to assume primary parenting.
  
  
• Yours, Mine, and Ours; How Families Change When Remarried Parents Have a Child Together
  by Anne C. Bernstein
  Published by W. W. Norton & Company
  
  Synopsis:
  Based on the author's experience as a family therapist and stepmother, and on interviews with more than fifty families, this book explores the ramifications for all concerned--remarried parents, his children, her children, and their baby--of having a mutual child.
  
  
• Strengthening Your Stepfamily
  by Elizabeth Einstein, Linda Alberta, Linda Albert
  Published by Random House
  
  Synopsis:
  A book for people in stepfamily situations, to help them understand the complexities, cope with the difficulties, and reap the rewards a stepfamily situation has to offer. Illustrated.
  
  
• Stepfamily Problems : How to Solve Them
  by Tom Frydenger, Adrienne Frydenger
  Published by Baker Book House
  
  
• Willing to Try Again : Steps Toward Blending a Family
  by Dick Dunn
  Published by Judson Press
  
  

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  This page was created on 4/20/98, and updated on 10/30/02.
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