Customer Reviews

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

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Very important reading for those considering a new marriage where adult step-children will be involved. Or if you are struggling with the reaction of adult step-children to a marriage you are already in.

Not quite a reference book. You need to read it through, perhaps skipping a chapter or 2 that really doesn't apply to your situation. IE there are chapters specific to one or both partners being widowed that may not help you. I found the suggestions for ALL members of the family to deal with their emotions and the behaviors of others to be very helpful. This is not just information about what is happening but what to do to improve the situation.

I found it helpful to use the author's classifications for my and my new spouses adult children. It was good to understand their reactions were well within what is normal and that there were ways to deal with their disappointment, anger, and misconceptions.

This book seems to stand alone in the field as a tutorial for the entire adult step family. I constantly recommend it to people I see in a similar situation. I even bought copies for my children who were struggling with my new marriage.

When I opened the book and started to read, Step Wars, I could not put it down. It is sobering, and answers many questions and concerns that we, as older adults (60 plus), need to address. I am very thankful that the authors had the courage to explore the subject and express the heart-felt situations that arise in a relationship, with answers that affect, not only the seniors that have found love, but how that love affects the entire family.
I am truly humbled! Thank You!

I am 49 and my step children are 21, 24, and 25. I have found the book to be very useful as well as helpful in aiding me in becoming a better step mother.

This book is very helpful in understanding the different feelings that step families go thru when a couple marry. It has helped me understand not only some of the feelings that I was having but also to see what my children & step children may be feeling as well.

This book should be read by everyone in a step family. It is one of the most helpful books I have ever read.

Step Wars is absolutely essential reading for anyone who is thinking about remarrying after a divorce or loss of spouse. I kept saying "That's it!" Again and again,the issues raised in the book, written after some 1500 interviews, parallel those in real life. Read the Five Furies, and the Eight Blessings. You'll learn a great deal, and who knows? It might just help you keep your sanity!