The Truth about Stepfamilies: Real American Stepfamilies Speak Out about What Works and What Doesn't When It Comes to Creating a Family Toge

So many stepfamilies look for help, support, advice and direction in their ongoing efforts at "blending". This book provides a compassionate, easy-to-read and understandable description of the many faces of that journey. As a psychologist, I have read it and used it and recommended it to clients. It is a great mix of humor and reality and very usuable ideas, while allowing us to be human and imperfect and ok. Read it and pass it forward--a great gift for anyone on this challenging road!!

When I read the book, it did portray our family dynamics quite accurately. Of course, between the time of the interview and the time the book came out, a lot has changed but the overview of the daily battle is there. When reading the other stories, it was interesting to see how many of the families have the same underlying problems (money, control, privacy) and how each person handles them. I would recommend this book to anyone thinking about entering the step-family way of life or even someone who is there. It is an eye-opener.

I marvel that eight family groups were willing to bare their hopes, frustrations and down-and-dirty fights to O'Connor and readers like me. O'Connor uses their life stories to paint a powerful and ultimately hopeful picture of the challenges stepfamilies face and how they can overcome them -- or make them worse. This book helps answer the question "Why is this so hard?" and gives support to those who who fear that it's just too hard to keep going. Anyone considering getting into -- or out of -- a stepfamily should read this.