Customer Reviews

I Heart My In-Laws: Falling in Love with His Family--One Passive-Aggressive, Over-Indulgent, Grandkid-Craving, Streisand-Loving, Bible-Thumping In-Law at a Time

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You've spent your life thinking your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins all have
"bizarre quirks"that you've learned to embrace but surely you've avoided
telling anyone else about for fear they might just think that wierdness
is genetic and you might be one step away from the looneybin yourself.
Then comes the day when you meet someone who loves you no matter how crazy
you might be and you meet their family and come to the realization that
your family is vanilla compared to the rainbow sherbert that will be your
future in-laws. "I Heart My In-Laws" is a humourous take on all the
different varieties (and several you may not have thought of) of in-laws
you could end up with and how to navigate the treacherous waves of
expected familial bonding that awaits you. The author's filmmaking
sensibilities are noticible as she is quite deft at conjuring up
descriptive scenarios that read like you are watching a scene from a film
unfold. Everything from slapstick to moments of drama are present and
the author does an excellent job of keeping these incidents in perspective
of the larger goal of creating an amicable relationship with your in-laws.
While the text is certainly geared more towards female readers, boyfriends
and future husbands will undoubtedly get some laughs from reading it,
and more importantly learn a thing or two about dealing with their future
in-laws as well. The book also has some witty charts and quizes that will
definitely put a smile on your face as your realize not only what kind of
in-laws you have, but what kind of parents you have as well. Definitely
makes a great engagement present.

...in a nutshell! Not only has she identified them in all of their quirky insanity, but she's actually given me tactics to deal with them. I only wish I'd had this guide BEFORE the 2 week vacation...not after!
I then brought the book on vacation with my own family and everyone flipped through and got something out of it. (One cousin was overheard saying, repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's them, exactly!!) Married, dating or single, everyone can find humor and survival tactics in this fun and informative read.

I had been dating my girlfriend for about 6 months and was very nervous about meeting her parents. I bought this book after seeing Dina Koutas on the Today Show and thought it would be another chic lit type book - how wrong I was! The book is witty and enjoyable, but more importantly, gave me an idea of not just how to act, but what to expect. Definitely recommend this for guys that are meeting parents for the first time who also want a good laugh and appreciate a well penned book.

Spending a week at the beach house with your in-laws sounded like a good idea back in March when you planned it, but after 36 hours you're ready to burn the place to the ground just to escape...well, don't commit arson. Get this book instead.

It's hilarious, but real in talking about relationships, in-laws and coping with the madness it brings on. And the different stories and anecdotes give you the same zip of schadenfreude that Dear Abby does - man, I thought I had it bad, but these stories are much worse! The next time the eight hour epic discussion about how to cook the Thanksgiving turkey makes you crazy, retreat to a corner with this book for some quiet reading time.

It's a genuinely fun book that lots of people can identify with, and I totally am giving it to married friends for Christmas - and engaged gals can plan on getting it from me for their showers! (Buying a stack of like ten of the same book and keeping them on hand to give out for various birthdays and holidays is a technique I picked up from...my father-in-law! But don't tell him. I'd never hear the end of it.)

I <3 my In-laws is a book one can take both light heartedly as well as seriously. This is a book that is set up to both entertain the reader, as well as to give them tips on how to survive their in-laws. I found myself laughing at some points and thinking of what I just read as something that was funny, but not to be actually used when dealing with my in-laws, and at other parts I found myself making a mental note to try that specific tactic next time I saw my mother in law.

In chapter two, Know Thy Enemy, Dina Koutas Poch breaks down in-laws into seven categories, some of which are: the dead in-law, the drama queen in-law, the scary in-law, and manipulator in-law. She proceeds to tell you what they are like and how you can basically handle them. What I like best is how Dina switches back and fourth from simple entertainment in her words, to very wise words. At the end of this book you could walk away from it feeling light hearted and amused instead of exhausted and bombarded with straight up facts on dealing with in-laws.

A perfect example of advice on the manipulator in-law is "Instead of quietly drowning in the pressurized tide pool of guilt, stand your ground. Your in-law says `my other daughter in-law always picks me up at the airport. I never take an airport shuttle.' You respond `so what you're saying is that I'm a bad daughter in-law?' If she's mad, make her say it! The emperor has no clothes!" I grin, I laugh, and I make a mental note. This is the beauty of the book; No stress, no frantically writing things down, no feeling like this is a book that was assigned by a professor who plans on testing how much you memorized.

As a recently married woman, I got a kick out of reading this because you got to feel like you weren't alone. I thought I was the only one who had in-laws who always talked about the negative side of life and acted as though the world were about to end, other wise known as `The Harbinger of Bad News In-law'. I thought I was just not being patient enough with this particular in-law of mine and would walk out after a visit feeling as though a black cloud were hanging over my head. This book gave some great advice on how to combat some of the negativity and force some positive things into the conversation.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is going to meet their in-laws for the first time. This way, when you find out something creepy, or odd, or just plain annoying about an in-law, you'll most likely already have read something similar in this book, so you won't feel quite so alone. Also, because of the amazing humor in the book, meeting your `Scary in-law' won't be so scary because you will already have some tricks up your sleeve to bring to the table! `Would you drink prune juice on an empty stomach and drive away from a bathroom? And, please don't go to places with your in-law where cell phone service falters. Remember there is safety in numbers. Such as 9-1-1.

I bought this on impulse for my sister, who is getting married at the end of the summer. She read the whole thing in a weekend and then gave it back to me and said that I needed to read it too (I've been married for about six months now).

I balked at first, since I'm a guy and the book is clearly aimed at a female audience, but I ended up reading through the whole thing in two sittings. The author has a writing style that's friendly, humorous, occasionally sobering, and always readable. And despite the overall light-hearted tone of the book, there's a ton of good, practical advice in here.

After I finished it my wife started reading it, so I ended up buying another copy for my sister. If any of my other female friends or relatives get married, I'll probably give them a copy as well. I'm still not sure I would give it to my guy friends, although I'm sure some of them could use the advice ... how about a version for men?

I echo the sentiments of the previous reviewers, this book really isn't written for wives (which is odd because they're not your IN-LAWS until you're married.) I'm sure the overboard descriptions of people from different regions of the country, and people from different religious backgrounds were intended to be humorous but I think the author just makes herself look like a close-minded bigot.

I was very disappointed with this book. The book title is "I Heart My In-laws." However, this book was mostly written for girlfriends or fiancés. If you are already married and have actual issues, forget it. This book is mostly one joke or "funny" answer after another. Many of the "solutions" they suggest are not things a normal adult would do or the solutions are completely unfeasible (such as running away). If you want an actual "self-help" book, look somewhere else. I recommend purchasing "Six In The Bed" instead. That has been the best "in-law" book I've come across so far.

I bought one for my mother, prodded by some "issues" our family was having with in-laws. Within days she was reading favorite passages to her sister over the phone and mailing out gift copies to friends. I wasnt at all surprised by her reaction--it's a genuinely funny book.

Even if you're not married, you'll still be able to relate to the characters covered in this handy guide to your significant other's family. From the diagramatic overview of airline seating while on vacation with your in-laws, to the handy translation table for what you tell your spouse's grandmother you do for a living, Dina makes sure you're equipped to handle anything your in-laws might throw at you (including hand-feeding you freshly carved turkey during the holidays). Whether or not you like your in-laws, this book will make coping with them something you can manage. Recommended for anyone about to be married, or about to vacation with your love's family.