Stepmonster

What woman with stepchildren has not--in order to diffuse the often overwhelming emotions and challenges of the role-- referred to herself as a "stepmonster"? Wednesday Martin's empowering and original book shines a light on what's so unhelpful to women in the usual take on step mothering--the focus on stepchildren; the emphasis on how to be a substitute parent." Instead--as Hope Edelman does for motherless daughters--"Stepmonster" unlocks her own experience as a stepmother, interviews with other stepmothers and stepchildren; and fascinating insights from anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology to reveal the little-understood realities of this most demanding role. Stepmothers will recognize in "Stepmonster", a smart, witty book that marshals new ways of looking at the stepmother experience.

WEDNESDAY MARTIN holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Yale. She was a regular contributor to the New York Post’s parenting page for several years, and her work has appeared in a number of national magazines. Martin, a stepmother for eight years, lives with her husband and their two sons.