--- product_id: 19262494 title: "Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do" brand: "wednesday martin ph.d." price: "€ 29.86" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.fr/products/19262494-stepmonster-a-new-look-at-why-real-stepmothers-think-feel store_origin: FR region: France --- # Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do **Brand:** wednesday martin ph.d. **Price:** € 29.86 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do by wednesday martin ph.d. - **How much does it cost?** € 29.86 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.fr](https://www.desertcart.fr/products/19262494-stepmonster-a-new-look-at-why-real-stepmothers-think-feel) ## Best For - wednesday martin ph.d. enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted wednesday martin ph.d. brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Half of all women in the United States will live with or marry a man with children. And what woman with stepchildren has not—in order to defuse the often overwhelming challenges and anxieties she experiences—referred to herself as a “stepmonster”? What Hope Edelman’s book has done for motherless daughters, Wednesday Martin’s empowering and original Stepmonster does for stepmothers: unlocks the emotional mysteries of why they think and feel and act the way they do. Martin draws on her own experience as a stepmother, interviews many stepmothers and stepchildren, and gathers insights from literature, psychology, and evolutionary biology to reveal the little-understood realities of this demanding role. Stepmonster illuminates the harrowing process of becoming a stepmother, exposes the myths and realities of being married to a man with children, counteracts the prevailing notion that stepmothers are solely responsible for the problems they encounter, identifies the five “step-dilemmas” that create conflict, and considers the emotional and social challenges men with children face when they remarry. Stepmonster also sheds light on the history of stepmothering and the previously overlooked legacy of women with stepchildren everywhere. Finally, in an unexpected twist, Martin shows why the myth of the Wicked Stepmother is at once an elaborate cultural fiction and our single best tool for understanding who real stepmothers are and how they feel. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #7 in Step Parenting & Blended Families (Books) | | Dimensions | 6 x 0.88 x 9 inches | | Edition | First Edition | | Isbn 10 | 1517071380 | | Isbn 13 | 978-1517071387 | | Item Weight | 1.1 pounds | | Language | English | | Print Length | 350 pages | | Publication Date | October 7, 2015 | | Publisher | CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform | ## Images ![Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NT1YU1cGL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Emancipating....Vindicating, Life Changing! *by on Reviewed in the United States July 25, 2011* "Stepmonster" is the most emancipating and liberating book that I have read in years! Wednesday Martin did a thorough research and put together some of the most phenomenal information and shares it so that you become liberated from the prison bars within and set free. She validates and vindicates so many questions that have plagued a stepmother and helps you realize what you have experienced is actually quite normal. The real life sharing from those interviewed were completely believable and oddly familiar. Absolutely life changing!After reading several books on the subject over the years I found myself devouring her knowledge and information that is deeply perceptive. She hits every area with precision and drives home the reality of what is involved. She addresses every issue head-on and makes no apologies about it. I can only say that "I Am So Blessed and Thankful that I Am Not a Stepmother." I was never allowed to be one and thus I have been spared so much of what I read about in this book. I will always be eternally grateful to those who did not allow me to be one thus saving me a lot of grief. Some profound parts of the book which literally had me dancing a new dance and are as follows. I hope you too will pick up her book and begin a journey of self-liberation and freedom unlike any other. It will change your life!Page 20 Although it's a disappointment, it's no real surprise that when wives of men with children and those children come together, regardless of good intentions, we are on a collision course of sorts.Page 40 The stepmother lives outside of time, at the interstice of fact and fiction, of myth and history, rendering them nearly indistinguishable.Page 64 Our stepchildren do not feel like our children. And so logically, inevitably many of us do not-cannot-feel maternal toward them. While we did indeed choose a man with children, it would be disingenuous for most of us) to pretend that we chose the children. We chose him, and they came on the side.Page 84 Failing to connect, failing to fix, in something women take to heart.Page 85 We need to allow ourselves to be less than all-loving all the time and to forgive ourselves for responding like human beings rather than saints to the par-for-the-course slights and oversights from our stepchildren that often feel deliberate. "I feel like, to succeed as a stepmother, you have to be either really assertive about not being stepped on or incredibly self-abnegating," a woman whose twenty-something stepdaughter veered from being prickly and standoffish to blatantly hostile told me?The author goes on and explains how to stop the cycle.....in this chapter.Page 99 The one part of this chapter was the most liberating of all....where she speaks of disengaging...Reading about disengaging made me realize that I often inadvertently carried much of my husbands pain and often tried to help with no success. I had no clue who these strangers were nor they me, therefore wrong assumptions and choices were made and failed. Just disengage....DISENGAGINGTo disengage--to simply try less or stop trying at all--requires accepting a number of truths about being married to a man with children.*They are not your children.*You are not responsible for overcoming their upbringing or any emotional or social problems they have.* You are not responsible for what kind of people they are. You are not responsible for what kind of people they become.*These responsibilities belong to your husband, who will likely not raise his kids (or make interventions with his adult kids) the way you would.Having accepted this reality, you then make a promise to yourself: I will never give them the opportunity to treat me disrespectfully again.Page 101 If you have stepchildren of any age, the most important person in your life is your husband. He is, quite simply, the person who in large part determines your happiness---or misery--in your step-situation. His actions and attitudes will dictate whether your quality of steplife will be extraordinarily stressful, basically tolerable, or even enjoyable, despite the inevitable difficulties and bumps along the way.Page 128 The downside is that adult stepchildren tend to hold their stepmothers responsible for their fathers' behavior, which they interpret as choice.Chapter 10 is a phenomenal chapter on adult stepchildren...As Wednesday explains that, "Many adults disavow the significance of getting a stepmother in their late teens, twenties, thirties, forties, and even fifties. "My dad married her when I was already out of the house, so it's not really relevant the whole stepmother thing to me" and "My siblings and I are adults, so it's pretty much a non-issue" were the frequent mantras of the adult stepchildren I spoke to. ......what puzzled me the most was that these complaints about stepmothers sounded on the surface rather petty, the types of things a grownup of goodwill might easily accommodate.Page 250 In a number of instances, I was taken by surprise by how "Stuck" many of the otherwise emotionally mature and high-functioning adults I interviewed seemed and the vehemence with which they sometimes expressed their disapproval of their fathers' union with, as one woman in her thirties put it, "Dad's wife, or whatever she is." I wanted to understand just what makes an adult child unable to feel close to a stepmother, and vice versa. Why do antagonisms persist between basically well-adjusted adults-adults who just so happen to be stepchildren and stepmothers and who are generally likeable in their own right?Page 251 Role ambiguity and adult stepchildren's continuing ambivalence, the sense - even if it is unacknowledged-- that accepting us would be a betrayal of Mother, that Father loving us is a betrayal of both Mother and them, can make matters more complicated still. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Saved my sanity! *by on Reviewed in the United States May 14, 2026* As a brand-new stepmom to a nine-year-old, this book is an absolute lifesaver. It helps to navigate the sudden shock of this role, helping me through the challenges of a smart-talking kid and a difficult biological mother.It is also incredibly heartfelt. It beautifully validates the quiet pain of trying so hard while feeling completely unappreciated.Best of all, it's a super easy read. If you are a new stepmom trying to survive the early stages of blending a family, buy this book immediately for the perfect mix of comfort and laughs. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good read!!! *by on Reviewed in the United States March 1, 2026* This book has been a good read so far. I haven't finished it, I totally can relate to some of the chapters 100%. I thought I was going crazy and this book helped me to realize I'm not the only stepmother dealing with certain feelings or issues and that most of them are normal and I'm not crazy lol. Loyalty bond, jealousy,drama from both step-daughter and bio-mom has been a never ending story after 10 years and i was very nieve at one time into thinking we would be one big happy family. It's does mess with your mental health and I like how this book explains that and why. I love my husband and thankfully he always supports me but has not been easy. Give this book a try and Goodluck!! Lol 🙏 --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.fr/products/19262494-stepmonster-a-new-look-at-why-real-stepmothers-think-feel](https://www.desertcart.fr/products/19262494-stepmonster-a-new-look-at-why-real-stepmothers-think-feel) --- *Product available on Desertcart France* *Store origin: FR* *Last updated: 2026-09-04*