I’ve been meaning to make a public statement about the subtitle of my book, Stepcoupling: Creating and Sustaining a Strong Marriage in Today’s Blended Family. I severely regret the use of the term “blended family”. When I found out that my publisher had subtitled my book in this way, I strongly objected. I was told that the cover had already been printed, and it was too late to change it.
As a spokesperson for stepfamilies, this nomenclature, TODAY’S BLENDED FAMILIES, has always been a source of embarrassment for me.
All of us in stepfamilies know there is no natural blending. The issues are universal, ie. insiders and outsiders, biological parenting vs. stepparenting, competition for attention and position, etc. Stepfamily life is anything but BLENDED.
In the text of my book, readers will not see the term “blended family”. It was never my intention to mislead my readers with this false expectation. I regret this decision made by my publishing company.
Susan Wisdom, LPC
