Step Wars: Overcoming the Perils and Making Peace in Adult Stepfamilies [Hardcover]

Grace Gabe (Author), Jean Lipman-Blumen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

More and more people over age sixty-five are remarrying each year, and few families are prepared for the avalanche of feelings that comes when adult children learn that a parent is getting remarried. Psychiatrist Grace Gabe and award winning author Jean Lipman-Blumen provide a practical guide with advice and understanding for every family facing this increasingly common, complex situation. Using case studies from a variety of perspectives, chapters address concerns frequently faced, including:

* Who Should Inherit My Property? Managing Financial Conflict Between the Generations
* Health and Illness: Thank Heaven the Caretaker Is On Duty
*The Grandchildren: Innocent Pawns (or Occasional Bridges) in Stepfamily Conflicts

Written for both the couple getting married as well as their adult children, Step Wars is the only book in the market that focuses on the blending of adult families.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every parent in a blended family can use some help in navigating this tricky emotional terrain. Grace Gabe and Jean Lipman-Blumen are those trustworthy guides anyone needs to make a step-family work; Step Wars is an essential guide, a pragmatic tool, and an invaluable resource."
--Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

About the Author

Grace Gabe, M.D. is a neurologist and psychiatrist who has treated stepfamilies for over twenty years. She lives in Santa Monica, California.

Jean Lipman-Blumen, Ph.D. is a professor at Claremont Graduate University in California. She is the co-author of the award-winning Hot Groups.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312290993
• ISBN-13: 978-0312290993
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #998,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book, April 9, 2004

By 

S. M. Siler, MD (Brookline, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Step Wars: Overcoming the Perils and Making Peace in Adult Stepfamilies (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding book. It tackles the delicate issues surrounding the many varieties of adult step families with wisdom and wit. A sense of profound and seasoned realism underlies the authors' approach and they address the most difficult questions ( including money and sex) with gripping and often painful experiences from real life. There are no easy answers but this book is truly a guide to realistic accommodations. It is enlivened by intelligence, a sense of humor, and is vastly above the level of most self help books. I couldn't put it down.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Step Wars is "must" reading, April 11, 2004

By 

Judith Rapoport (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Step Wars: Overcoming the Perils and Making Peace in Adult Stepfamilies (Hardcover)

This is a lovely book and reads well and offers important help. Step Wars can help happy second marriages stay that way! It will help to anticipate, understand and negotiate the pitfalls of dealing with adult step children. although not advertised as such, this book offers sound advice about how parents in general should talk about finances with their grown children. I predict a wide and grateful audience.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ONLY Adult Stepfamily Book You'll EVER Need!, April 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Step Wars: Overcoming the Perils and Making Peace in Adult Stepfamilies (Hardcover)

Finally! A book that emerges amidst the sea of stepfamily guides, offering direction through the waters of ADULT stepfamilies. Step Wars assists your travel through the life of an adult stepfamily beginning with the conception of the relationship, and covering the plethora of complications, which lead up to the inheritance at its bereavement.

Straying from the theoretical pathway that too many authors follow, Grace Gabe and Jean Lipman-Blumen intertwine their theories and advice among the examples from real individuals as they experience adult stepfamilies. As you read through the various interviews throughout the book, you'll inevitably stumble upon a scenario that hits close to home.

Step Wars is more than just a book about adult stepfamilies; it is a handbook that EVERY stepparent and stepchild should not live without. As you find yourself confronted with any difficult crossroad, you'll undoubtedly find the answer you need within the covers of this book.