These writings inform, wrestle with, and embrace these questions and more.
Writers of all stripes explore the experience of being part of a stepfamily.
In the past few decades, a host of sociological studies have sought to make sense of the fracturing of the American marriage. As divorce rates have continued to hover around 50 percent, the studies have suggested something of a moral crisis, even to the most stoic of observers. The rates have decreased somewhat in the new century, but what of all those divorces? However, second and third marriages often succeed, which has led to increasing numbers of steprelationships—and all the ups and downs those relationships imply. In her collection, Waltz offers essays and stories from writers who have found themselves in stepfamilies, whether by their own decisions or by the marriages of others. Many of the pieces highlight the shifting boundaries and structures of “families,” including not only blood relatives and steprelatives, but also others who come to be considered “one of us” through selfless actions and commitments. The bonds that can be forged, we are reminded repeatedly, come more through empathy than through sharing parents; it’s more about what we do than who we are. The stepfamily can present problems not unfamiliar to blood relations, but with a different angle. The disagreements between two people worked out over time follow a different process than the disagreements that must be faced by a couple for whom the battles have been fought before and the willingness to see differently muted. The challenges can also be unique—e.g., how do we make that leap of faith into new families when our old ones have failed us? Throughout this collection, the contributors—who include Kerry Cohen, James Bernard Frost, Ariel Gore, and Ellen Sussman—provide “a model for creating order and peace out of a tangle of step relationships [or] let us know it isn’t always possible.”
These writings inform, wrestle with, and embrace these questions and more.Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58005-557-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Seal Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Inspiring for family-history buffs but too staid for most general readers.
A sentimental history of family lore and furniture.
Following their mother’s death, former Philadelphia Inquirer Home & Design editor Tracy (Journalism/Washington and Lee Univ.) and her sister assumed the task of sifting through a household’s worth of antique furniture and collectibles. Faced with the dilemma of letting go of these long-treasured possessions, the author writes that “[w]e can, in fact, never be free of our stuff until we have dealt with the stories it carries.” Discussing her military family’s Canton china, the author begins with the story of her great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran who reared his family in varying remote Army outposts on the frontier. In 1900, his daughter Bess, Tracy’s grandmother, married a lieutenant and moved to Asia, where she was pregnant seven times. Sadly, due to tragedies like amoebic dysentery, only one of their children—the author’s mother—survived to adulthood. Interspersed with photos of family members and collectibles large and small—a sandalwood chest from China, a Spanish mission chest acquired in Manila, a so-called “George Washington chair,” where the first president may or may not have sat—the book is fueled by Tracy’s interest in unpacking old family lore by connecting the dots of her newly inherited possessions. These historical facts are relevant also because of the auction at which most of the items were sold. The author catalogues each piece, revealing multidimensional tales of how they came into her family’s possession and what each one represents (the dueling pistols, for instance, were once owned by Aaron Burr), and her newfound knowledge has the unsurprising effect of increasing her seller’s remorse. After the auction, Tracy furthered her thirst for information about her lineage by traveling to the Philippines.
Inspiring for family-history buffs but too staid for most general readers.Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-553-80726-4
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
An activity-packed primer backed by the power and authority of a passionate parent.
A mother shares her insights and at-home exercises tailored for early autistic learners in this how-to parenting/education guide.
For Adams (The Needs of Billy and Other Autistic Children, 2014), it was soon apparent, watching the struggles her autistic son, Billy, faced in school, that she’d have to provide additional assistance at home. In her new workbook (her first was focused on special needs kindergartners), Adams first offers commentary on what she found to be particularly helpful to address the early learning needs of her own son, which she believes will be applicable to other autistic and special needs children. Her insights include that parents must be aware of and address attention-span limits and also use “the obsession,” such as taking advantage of a particular child’s ability to focus better when there is a consistent underlying noise. The bulk of her book consists of simple and generally one-page exercises that families can use with their children, “so parents can get all the information in one book instead of having to shop at different places for different materials.” These exercises include many focused on visual identification: of animals, parts of the human body, differences within a group, and more. Math and science topics are naturally part of these lesson kits, including fill-in-the-blank sentences to guide the child to find out and record body measurements. The workbook wraps up with two short stories to prompt conversation and reading comprehension. Adams has done a commendable job in collecting an array of exercises that will save parents time and money trying to find sources elsewhere, providing many avenues for discussion and reinforcement of math, spelling, and other key fundamentals of early learning. Adams’ inclusion of a sign-language lesson could have used more explanation (such as how and when to use such a language aid), and this book’s black-and-white illustrations are rather crudely drawn, which may lessen its appeal to some. Still, most parents should appreciate this clear and simple workbook, particularly since it was created and road-tested by a concerned mother.
An activity-packed primer backed by the power and authority of a passionate parent.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4917-7091-7
Page Count: 178
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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