 In Stepdads: Stories of Love, Hope, and Repair, William Marsiglio addresses provocative and timely questions facing stepfathers, single mothers, and remarried couples today. This book speaks to those who study and work with stepfamilies as well as persons who have ever thought about or lived in a stepfamily.The issues are complex and diverse: How do men become romantically involved with women who have children from previous relationships? What enables these men to see themselves, and have others perceive them, as acting in a fatherly way toward other men’s children? What types of commitments, privileges, and obligations do men develop toward stepchildren? Can men really love stepchildren? How do family members negotiate the ways stepfathers relate to and discipline their stepchildren? How do stepfathers perceive and deal with biological fathers?
Drawing on revealing in-depth interviews with a diverse mix of stepfathers and their partners, years of doing research on fathers, and his personal experience, Marsiglio examines these and related questions. Through rich and lively interviews, stepfathers and their partners with minor children of all ages describe in detail how they try to make sense of their feelings and circumstances while managing the challenges of their unconventional, complicated family lives. Marsiglio’s social-psychological analysis explores the deep meanings men associate with being stepfathers and the way their inner worlds are shaped by their interactions with family, friends, professionals, and strangers. His nuanced approach captures both the private and public faces of being a stepfather. With an eye toward the future, Marsiglio outlines strategies at the individual, family, and social levels that can enhance stepfathers’ lives as well as the lives of the birth mothers and children they touch. –Description from Book Jacket |