The Smart Stepfamily
When stepfamily life gets tough, remaining dedicated to your commitment is a day-to-day decision.
In The Smart Stepfamily, leading expert Ron L. Deal reveals the seven fundamental steps to blended family success and provides practical, realistic solutions to the issues you face as a stepfamily. Whether married or soon-to-be married, you'll discover how to communicate effectively and solve the everyday puzzles of stepchildren relationships. This revised and expanded edition is 50% new and has updated research and two new chapters with more real-world advice on stepsibling relationships and later-life stepfamilies.
- Recognize the unique personality and place of each family member
- Solve the everyday puzzles of step parenting and stepchildren relationships
- Learn communication skills to deal with ex-spouses
- Honor families of origin while developing new traditions
- Invest the time to grow their stepfamily slowly rather than look for instant results
“I highly recommended the first edition, and I am even more excited about this new edition.”
—from the foreword by Gary Chapman, PhD, author of The Five Love Languages
“The Smart Stepfamily is the best book available for stepfamilies that I’ve seen. . . . Buy it, read it, and share it with a friend.”
—Dennis Rainey, president, FamilyLife®, and author of Stepping Up
"Ron Deal has, by far, the best material available on stepfamilies. The insights and suggestions he shares work. Every stepfamily will benefit from reading this book."
- H. Norman Wright, Licensed marriage, family, and child therapist, founder of Christian Marriage Enrichment, author
“We’ve pointed countless couples to this outstanding resource. And this revised and updated edition is better than ever!”
—Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, founders of MarriageMentoring.com and authors of Saving Your Second Marriage Before It Starts
"I love this book! It adds an important dimension to the understanding of stepfamilies and reads as if sitting down with wise friends. Written on the 'information is power' premise, The Smart Stepfamily weaves together a review of biblical materials, current psychological and sociological research, best practices, practical insights, and anecdotal stories to educate and support stepfamilies and the clergy who serve them."
--Dr. Margorie Engel, president and CEO, Stepfamily Association of America
Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series of books including the bestselling Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart (with Dr. Gary Chapman), The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, and Preparing to Blend. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular conference speaker, and host of the FamilyLife Blended podcast. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at FamilyLife.com/blended.
Paperback: | 320 pages |
Publisher: | Bethany House (2014) |
Language: | English |
ISBN: | 978-0764212062 |
Product Dimensions: | 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches |
Shipping Weight: | 12 ounces |
For orders outside of the United States and Canada there may be additional shipping and handling charges. Please call 800-358-6329 7:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday for details.