One Family, Two Family, New Family: Stories and Advice for Stepfamilies

A lot of stepfamily books give you one-size-fits-all advice. This book does a wonderful job of showing that stepfamilies are very complex, and there is no cookie-cutter approach to forming them. Authors Cohn and Merkel demonstrate the importance of taking into account each family member's personality. The authors really connect with you emotionally. They show you that stepfamily issues are very emotionally charged, and that you can't discount all the feelings that arise in stepfamilies. They describe all the hard work and emotion that goes into making decisions in a stepfamily. It was very moving for me to read this book. I learned that if you really love someone, and you want to make a stepfamily work, you have to throw out some of the conventional wisdom about families. You can't try a cookie cutter approach; you have to be creative. After reading this book, I went out and bought a present for my husband's ex-wife!

Lisa Cohn and Bill Merkel have written a book packed with practical tips and wonderful insights about the dynamics of stepfamilies. The authors do a great job describing their own personal story, and weave in the experiences of other stepfamilies. They also balance the personal anecdotes with research and advice to help readers understand the big picture and the challenges and joys facing all stepfamilies. The writing is fresh, honest and compelling. A must for blended families!

I am the stepfather of three kids, and I read this book at the advice of my wife when we were having trouble with my kids and her kids... and the relationship between them... and reading Cohn's book really helped me understand some of the things that were going on with them and how I should react to them. Reading it helped me figure things out that I never would have if I hadn't. Definately a must-read for all stepfamilies.

Cohn and Merkel weave practical advice with absorbing and sometimes humorous tales of their stepparenting journey. This book is more than a how-to; it reads like a well-written family drama. I finished it wondering what would happen next with this family and hoping for a sequel. It also occurred to me that "One Family, Two Family" is likely to appeal to all families - not just stepfamilies -- since much of the insight provided by Merkel, a family psychologist, has universal application when it comes to human relationships. This is a great read for anyone raising a family.

In an engaging style, the authors give readers an emotion-packed and often humorous tale of how they formed their stepfamily. They provide "hers" and "his" points of view that will provide stepparents, single parents and anyone interested in stepfamilies a real-life view of the stepfamily adventure, complete with all its messiness, confusion, stress, laughter and love. They include touching stories from other families and advice from Dr. Merkel about topics ranging from dating as single parents to dealing with rejecting stepchildren. This book is not only a helpful and hopeful book about creating a stepfamily; it's a nice story with loveable, real-life characters!