Literary Mama Rewind: Stepparenting
Welcome to Literary Mama Rewind! Every few weeks we’ll round up some of our favorite essays, stories, poems, columns, and reviews from the Literary Mama Archives relating to a particular theme. This week we are considering life from the stepparent’s point of view. All you have to do is click and read….
- Put the Blender on Frappe by Laura Ruby in Creative Nonfiction
No need to introduce yourself; we’ve met before. You want to tell me about the man in your life — the most amazing, beautiful man — and I, of course, want to hear it.
- My Wild Child by Cassie Premo Steele in Creative Nonfiction
People do not smile when you say you have a stepchild. Their eyes do not light up and they do not ask, “How old is she?” as they burst to tell you a memory of their child at that age. Instead, they look at you solemnly, as if you have just told them bad news.
- An Interview with Betty Jane Hegerat by Katherine J. Barrett in Profiles
Betty Jane Hegerat’s most recent book, The Boy weaves fiction, journalism, and memoir into a gripping tale of motherhood and murder. The Boy centers on Louise and her relationship to Danny, her stepson.
- Stepping into Mamahood by Laralynn Weiss Rapoza from the Column Faces of Motherhood
Kai came into my life when he was just 14 months old and fresh from his parents’ divorce. I was in my early 30s, just back from traveling the globe, and filled with mixed emotions about plunging into the unofficial role of parenting a toddler part-time.
- I Am A Stepmother by Marianne Mansfield from the Column Faces of Motherhood
I am a stepmother and I never know how to respond to the question “Do you have children?” Neither “yes” nor “no” answers the question.
- Stepmother: What’s in a Name? by Erika Lutz from the Column Mama Sez
The stepmothering experience is so important, so common, so widely shared, so not-often-enough talked about.
- Interview/Book Giveaway: The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson by Jessica Devoe Riley from the Blog
The Underside of Joy is an emotional roller coaster about two mothers who are forced to deal with uncovered secrets and lies that threaten to tear their worlds apart.
- Not the Brady Bunch: A Review of My Father Married Your Mother: Writers Talk about Stepparents, Stepchildren and Everyone in Between by Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser in Reviews
Few book titles are as catchy as My Father Married Your Mother. The essays in this anthology tread the squishy ground that represents what some have dubbed the “post-nuclear” or blended family.