INSIDE THE AUGUST ISSUE:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURES
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Use The 4-P’s to Help Raise Hearty Flowers and Happy Families
by DIANNE MARTIN, B.S.W.
Learn how planning, preparation, perseverance and patience can help you raise healthy, happy stepchildren.
The Mommy Club:
Why Your Stepchild’s Mother Doesn’t Consider You a Co-Parent, Another Mother or a Bonus Mom
by MARY T. KELLY, M.A.
When you became a stepmother, you may have discovered that when it came to your partner’s children and their mother, there was a very clear and loud message, “No stepmothers allowed!
Lessons Learned: An Interview with Diane Greene
by HEATHER HETCHLER
Catch up with Diane Greene—a stepmom whose journey has yielded much growth and wisdom for her and her family.
The Ever-Present Loyalty Conflict:
Why Being a Stepmother Is a Call to Sainthood
by BRENDA SNYDER, LCSW
The loyalty conflicts our stepchildren endure deserve our compassion. Here’s how to cope with this difficult obstacle.
Emotional Intelligence and the Stepmom: Choosing Optimism
by JOAN SARIN, M.S.
Part eight of an ongoing series that examines the fundamental EQ competencies of knowing yourself, choosing your responses and giving of yourself.
DEPARTMENTS
BRENDA’S CORNER: Letter From the Publisher
THE INSIDE SCOOP: Stepmother Stereotypes
Who Made Up All This Wicked Stuff, Anyway?
BY WEDNESDAY MARTIN, Ph.D.
THE EX FACTOR: Carrying a Torch
What to Do If His Ex Hasn’t Moved On
BY JENNA KORF
LEGAL MATTERS: Parents Behaving Badly
What To Do If You Suspect Illegal Drug Use in the Other Home
BY LARA R. BADAIN, ESQ.
VANTAGE POINT: Living in the Present
Learning to Appreciate the Moment … Before It’s Gone
BY STACY SPENCER THOMPSON
TIME OUT: Validation
Why We All Just Want To Be Understood
BY SUSAN DAVIS SWANSON, Ph.D., LCSW
LIFE WITH LISA: California, Here We Come!
Or, Maybe Not?
BY LISA BRADSHAW
ON THE MONEY: Gold Diggers
Are His Kids Afraid You’re Only in It for the Money?
BY EMILY BOUCHARD, MSSW
FOOD AND FUN: Craft: Binder Dividers
BY ASHLEY GRANT
OUTLOOK: Real Stepmoms. Real Stories.
Spotlight on: Christy Campbell