Wednesday Martin has worked as writer and social researcher in New York City for almost two decades. She was a regular contributor to
New York Post’s parenting and lifestyle pages for several years, and her work has appeared in a number of national magazines including
Cosmopolitan,
Glamour, and
Fitness. Martin was also a features editor at
Woman’s World. She earned her doctorate in comparative literature from Yale and taught cultural studies and literature at Yale, The New School, and Baruch College. A stepmother for nine years, she lives in New York City with her husband and their two sons.
Her new book is
Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do. From a Q & A at the official website:
Q: Are you a stepmonster?
A: I've certainly had my days! And what became clear to me in the researching and writing of this book was that, contrary to what I had believed when I first got involved with a man who has kids, that's true of most women with stepkids. We have all had days when we feel wicked or evil. Being in a tough situation and feeling compelled to fix it, and then feeling like a failure when it comes to repairing someone else's dysfunctional family will do that to a person!
Q: Is that why you wrote the book?
A: In part, yes. It was cathartic for me to write about my own feelings of frustration and failure, certainly, and to find that these were common emotions for women with stepchildren to feel.
But I also wrote the book that I wanted to read but couldn't find. As I struggled to figure out how to relate to my husband's kids and to deal with being a stepmother, I couldn't find many books out there that went beyond formulaic advice that felt impossible to follow at the time. Like "Don't take it personally" and "Let it go or you'll regret it."
I wanted a book that...[read on]
Read
an excerpt from Stepmonster, and learn more about the book and author at
Wednesday Martin's website and
blog.
The Page 99 Test: Stepmonster.
--Marshal Zeringue
