creating joy despite divorced mom/stepmom conflict
“Skirts At War: Creating Peace Amidst Divorce Mom and Stepmom Conflict.” This book is all about YOU. It’s about finding YOUR peace and thriving regardless of what the other woman in your situation is doing. That’s what’s so great, you don’t need her to do anything differently in order for YOU to be happy. More to… [Continue Reading]
Hi everyone, Carol and David Marine of Daily Paintworks and their 6 yr. old son Jacob lost their home in a terrifying fire yesterday out near Bastrop. Their entire subdivision was wiped out (up to 300 homes) and the fire is still spreading – it’s currently 16 miles long, 6 miles wide, has covered over… [Continue Reading]
(Thursday, 7/28 from 7-8:00 CST. The call is limited to 100 attendees, so reserve your space! Click here to register.) (Work through your toughest stepmom issues at Jenna’s Stepmom Bootcamp!) Join us this Thursday for a free, live webinar with two leading experts in their field: Debbie Nigro, co-founder of First Wives World and “Stepmonster”… [Continue Reading]
(Join Jenna for Stepmom Bootcamp!) I just got the go-ahead from my agent this weekend for an NOTB follow-up! The book is tentatively titled, “No One’s the Bitch SUCCESS: What Worked and How to Do More of It – Even If She Doesn’t Change.” I’ve learned a lot over the years since writing the first… [Continue Reading]
(Audrey S. [mom] and Gina W. [stepmom] on Mother’s Day with their children.) The problem of the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small. -Mother Theresa Our old grievances can change in an instant when we simply open to the other… and listen. WHAT IF… the divorced mom or stepmom is… [Continue Reading]
(Jen is seeking 15 collaborators for her next book! More information here. Please help spread the word!) If you live close to the Big Apple, please consider joining Jen and good friends Brenda Ockun from StepMom Magazine, Paula Bisacre of ReMarriage Works and writer Joel Schwartzberg (a remarried father of 3) at the Peace Summit,… [Continue Reading]
Ever just get tired of talking about all the problems and conflict and drama between ex-wives and stepmoms? Between the two households? So do we. Although we’re strongly committed to helping women “deal” with the conflict between divorced moms and stepmoms, we realized something big this past weekend when we met up. There’s something hugely… [Continue Reading]
With all the extra activity from our readers on the blog and Facebook, it’s clear to Jenna and I that you want to interact and support each other. However, we know there are probably a lot of folks who want to participate, but aren’t comfortable sharing such private details on Facebook or in the public… [Continue Reading]
I just spoke to a producer for the Dr. Phil Show and they’d love to do another show highlighting the issues between dual-families – meaning, either a single parent family and a stepfamily — or two stepfamilies connected by divorce – that don’t get along. Things move quick in TV Land, so the two families… [Continue Reading]
Happy New Year and farewell to 2010! I am thrilled to introduce a new direction for the new year – a new blogging and workshop partner! Jenna Korf and I have corresponded over the last several years and have finally found a way to work together. She’ll be doing some guest posts here, we’ll try… [Continue Reading]
COACHING NOW AVAILABLE Please check out my new coaching page! You’ll find a variety of coaching options, if you’re interested in getting further support. There’s also a way to sign up for a free mini-session to test drive the car…. Coming this week: FREE DOWNLOADABLE GUIDE Free, in-depth guide on whether to take action on… [Continue Reading]
From Chaos to Partnership… The Transformation Lab is a solution-focused, online course designed to move you forward by enriching your understanding of a healthy step-bio relationship. Class begins Tuesday, June 22nd. “This is a really interesting walkthrough; a ten-step plan that’s well thought-out and experience-based. You didn’t invent this problem — you’ve just taken a… [Continue Reading]
Announcing an in-depth course just for stepmoms, a free How Did She Do It? call and no-holds barred videos from Carol and Jen! ** Have you lost your desire to even try anymore with the ex-wife? ** Have you been burned one too many times? ** Have you been drained by the constant stress, anxiety,… [Continue Reading]
This just in! Please help us spread the word! If you’re struggling in your stepfamily (either with your husband or stepchildren–or both) and you’d like to get some help, a major production company in New York is looking for YOU to film a pilot! The show will never be shown to the public and will… [Continue Reading]
I’ll be gabbing with my good friends, stepmoms Peggy Nolan and Erin Erickson tonight on the Stepmom’s Tool Box radio show (Monday, May 3rd / 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST). Have a burning question you’d like to ask? Disagree or agree with a recent post? Please come join us, I’d love to hear from you! Any and… [Continue Reading]
(New here? Subscribe to our RSS Feed or via email. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Check out excerpts from our book or audio book, and join us on the forum.) I’m behind on writing the third part to the Taming the Cobra series. It will be up later today or first thing tomorrow Sunday…. [Continue Reading]
(New here? Subscribe to our RSS Feed or via email. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Check out excerpts from our book or audio book, and join us on the forum.) I just got a call from an Oprah producer at Harpo Studios, Heather M.! I had spoken to her right before our book came… [Continue Reading]
Fire up your recorders! The show we taped last week in L.A. will be on Tuesday, December 1st. We're on the first half of the show (including David, Carol's husband and my ex – poor guy) and then there's another mom/stepmom/dad combo on during the second half of the show. I had big plans to… [Continue Reading]
It appears that the mom from the mom/stepmom team that was to appear on the show this coming Tuesday has changed her mind. The show would now like to instead focus on taking questions from both moms and stepmoms in the audience, so you're in luck if you live in Los Angeles or close by,… [Continue Reading]
If you live in Austin, or thereabouts, come say hello to Izzy Rose and I at our table at the Texas Book Festival this weekend! (Carol's out of town.) We'll be there gabbing up a storm while inhaling gallons of coffee, and passing out vast amounts of candy and raffle tickets for some cool prizes… [Continue Reading]
So we've gotten some great responses from folks willing to appear on the Dr. Phil Show with us, but we're still looking… I've passed everything along to the producers. Keep those messages coming! (marine2marine@gmail.com) As it stands, there's a film crew coming to my house tomorrow morning at 8 sharp, so I'm doing my best… [Continue Reading]
I need your help! Can you help us absolutely plaster the internets with our request? Carol and I have the opportunity to be on the Dr. Phil show next Tuesday and are doing a pre-interview with a producer today. We're looking for two (update: now only one) stepmom/mom sets of women who can't stand each… [Continue Reading]
I'll be one of the guests of honor over on The Stepmom's Toolbox on Tuesday, talking about the intricacies of the mom/stepmom relationship. Drop on by for a visit and ask me a question! I'd love to hear from you!!
Wouldn't it be helpful to have more stories of ex-wives and stepmoms out there, telling the truth about their lives, letting us take a peek inside? Well maybe YOU can tell your story… or eventually just hear some! I just got this very cool invitation from Eve Claxton of StoryCorps (they do the up-close, real-life… [Continue Reading]
Check out our latest coverage from The Huffington Post in an article called "Stepmothers, Mothers, and the 'B' Word" and the longest interview we've done yet — in Austin's own LiveMom, a great resource for local stepmoms and moms! We'll be taping an extended interview about ex-wife/stepmother issues with Communication 360 early tomorrow morning, so… [Continue Reading]
If you're planning on attending our free support group to create stepmom/mom partnership Tuesday at 7:30, please note, the location is incorrectly listed in the Austin Chronicle. It's at Central Market Cafe (north location, off 38th St.) and not at BookPeople, like our previous meetings. There was something about having to slip behind an author… [Continue Reading]
If you've got young, antsy kids driving you bananas and you're looking for alternatives to endless hours online or watching the boob tube, check out a fantastic new book called Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel by a friend of mine, K.A. Holt. Here's what Publisher's Weekly had to say about it: Even though he lives… [Continue Reading]
Check out our updated list of recent coverage for No One's the Bitch! We've got upcoming interviews with a writer for the Huffington Post, Communication360, The Courier-Post (greater Philadelphia area) and WOCM-FM 98.1 in Maryland. Two of those are done and the writers are scribbling away, two more to go. We'll post links once we… [Continue Reading]
Still struggling with the "other woman" in your life? Join the club! We're (Carol and I) hosting another free meeting in Austin, TX tonight to help moms and stepmoms better understand each other and create the beginnings of a parenting partnership (yes, it is actually possible!). We get along great now, but when we first… [Continue Reading]
Yes, you too could be a winnah!You've still got time to sign up for our mailing list and be entered into today's raffle. We'll also do one last drawing on Monday (everyone needs a little extra happiness on Mondays, right?). The mailing list may be used for announcements and new content that's not on the… [Continue Reading]
Just a quick reminder, our next meeting hosted by Carol and I will be this coming Tuesday, June 16th at 7:30pm at the award-winning BookPeople. We've created a Meetup group here, if you'd like to join. Or you can always check our Events page…. We still have raffle prizes to give away too! Tonight, we're… [Continue Reading]
Tomorrow we'll be doing two very different interviews on mom/stepmom issues. First, with the Globe and Mail, Canada's largest newspaper, for a column on marriage and divorce called Generation Ex by Sarah Hampson. Next up in the afternoon, an in-studio interview on KO-OP for the Radical Mother's Voice. We'll be on at 1:30 CST, so… [Continue Reading]
Okay, so I won't actually be announcing them, because I'll be sending raffle prize winners an email, but the messages will go off right at 5:00, Central Standard time. Thanks to everyone who signed up for our mailing list. It was nice to see those numbers skyrocket! Because I'm still a bit technically-challenged when it… [Continue Reading]
Just a reminder about our meeting tonight at BookPeople here in Austin, Texas. 7:30 p.m., third floor meeting room. Some of the stuff we'd like to cover…. Help for understanding and working through the conflict What’s one of the biggest hurdles to getting along? (It’s not what you think!) What should you do if the… [Continue Reading]
As promised, here are a few shots of our reading on Friday at BookPeople below. I'll load up the rest on Flickr tomorrow and you can scroll through to your heart's delight! It was so great to see so many supportive and warm faces, both familiar and new. The evening was hosted by actress Laura… [Continue Reading]
Check it out! Carol and I are featured in the Washington Post today in a sweet little feature on moms and stepmoms that get along, such as the "Miller Girls," an ex-wife and stepmom who became, and stayed, close friends, even in the face of illness. An excerpt:" Linda, the younger daughter, said the relationship… [Continue Reading]
If you're in Austin, come on out for our book signing tonight at the fabulous BookPeople! BOOK PARTY AND SIGNINGFriday, May 8 from 7:00 – 8:30pm BOOKPEOPLE603 North Lamar Blvd.Austin, Texas 78703events@bookpeople.comStore Phone: 512-472-5050 On the eve of Mother’s Day, celebrate your “Other Mother” with cupcakes by Hey Cupcake!, cocktails and conversation, hosted by actress… [Continue Reading]
Like a little gremlin that escaped from the attic, our book is officially out there in the world! If you'd like to help us obsess over our Amazon status on this holiest of launch days and reach Bestseller status (however briefly!), you can buy the book at Amazon. Just some of what you’ll find inside… [Continue Reading]
We’re running a promotion from May 6- June 15! On May 6th, we’ll start collecting email addresses from everyone who signs up for our mailing list OR buys the book at our site and enter your name into a weekly raffle drawing (one drawing a week, for a total of four weeks) for the following… [Continue Reading]
To celebrate the official launch of our book on Tuesday, May the 5th, we're offering: a free, downloadable companion No One's the Bitch Workbook (maintain your privacy and the pristine innards of the book at the same time!) raffles prizes through June 6! Come back on Tuesday for a full list of prizes, but for… [Continue Reading]
Woohoo! The illustrious Washington Post is interested in covering our upcoming book, "No One's the Bitch: A Ten-Step Plan for Mothers and Stepmothers" (Globe Pequot, 2009), due out May 5th. They're looking to interview a mom and stepmom that actually have a fairly cooperative relationship (not perfect, just… workable!). Do you know of anyone who… [Continue Reading]
We just got our first national review, and while it's a short one, and mixed in with a huge round-up of other books on step-parenting, it's a good one! None other than the esteemed Library Journal said, “Bitch is a worthy, energetic workbook…Chatty and funny, it provides useful ideas (e.g., make small offerings) and sound… [Continue Reading]
Check out the Introduction to our book! It's available for download as a PDF here. You're also invited to join us on our wild goose chase as we attempt to get in touch with such folks as Demi Moore and Will Smith for a book endorsement. (The clock is ticking! We're running out of time!)!… [Continue Reading]
Come back tomorrow, when we'll be reviewing "Keeping Kids Out of the Middle: Child-Centered Parenting in the Midst of Conflict, Separation and Divorce" by Benjamin Garber, PhD, sponsored by TLC Book Tours. Garber's got some great ideas for how parents can work together, during times when they'd be normally be pulling apart (and making the… [Continue Reading]
We get the periodical request for private help by email, and upon rare occasions, a lively rant. But what we really love are comments! When a post generates lots of activity, it's great to see what everyone's thinking, what their own personal take is on an issue, even if folks disagree. Sometimes, especially when folks… [Continue Reading]
Hi all! You'll be seeing and hearing a lot more from me, now that the first draft of the book is done! I inished Saturday, and am taking a few days off to get some distance before I jump back in for revisions. We had an amazing team of twenty-three reviewers helping us (friends, family,… [Continue Reading]
Hi Everyone, The new message boards are here! We'll hope you'll jump in and get things moving. We know no one likes getting out on the dance floor first, but we promise, if you do, we'll join you. Or perhaps you can just watch us doing some horrendous 80's moves all by ourselves. After you're… [Continue Reading]
Sorry for the lack of new content lately. My oldest daughter left home last week (we've chewed our nails down to nubs, worrying about her in Europe); I've hauled my entire, paper-ridden home office to another room and then… well, the head has not been cooperative lately (lots of migraines). Ever tried writing something creative… [Continue Reading]
Hi Folks, Running out the door soon to teach a class on blogging(!) out of town, but just wanted to say, I'll be back on Monday with a new post prompted by concerns that EJ brought up in a comment on last week's post on power. Thanks, EJ, for leading Carol and I into a… [Continue Reading]
Couple of new developments going on around here, including an up-and-coming book contract (woohoo!), new message boards, a more active newsletter and… in-person meetings! Taking each topic, one at a time: The book – we're potentially looking at a spring or summer of 2009 publication date and will have more information once details are finalized,… [Continue Reading]
Need an hour of brainstorming and support?
Like our book? Has it given you some new weapons tools for your blended-family arsenal? Made you think? Prompted you to action? Created an actual change in your life for the better? Leave a comment on Amazon saying so and win an hour-long phone consultation with Jennifer Newcomb Marine (that would be… me) to troubleshoot… [Continue Reading]