The Smart Stepfamily Marriage : Keys to Success in the Blended Family

Make This Marriage Last a Lifetime

Leading blended family authority Ron Deal and marriage and family expert David Olson show you how to build on your relationship strengths and improve your weaknesses. Whether you're dating, engaged, a young stepfamily, or an empty-nest couple, The Smart Stepfamily Marriage gives you the tools you need at any stage to create a remarriage that will last.

Each chapter of this book explores one of the key qualities of happy remarriages as identified by research. Like a GPS for your relationship, this book has built-in discussion questions that can help you and your partner discover where you are, where you'd like to be, and how to get there. The online survey gives you a report with personalized results for your relationship.

"The Smart Stepfamily Marriage is the road map to a healthy marriage."--Gary D. Chapman, PhD, author, The Five Love Languages and When Sorry Isn't Enough

"Remarried or marrying again? This book is loaded with specific, useful ideas for helping your marriage reach its full potential."--Scott Stanley, PhD, author, A Lasting Promise; research professor, University of Denver

"This book is a must-read for any remarried couple. It includes the tools needed to create and maintain a wonderful remarriage."--from the foreword by Evelyn Husband Thompson, widow of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband, now remarried to Bill Thompson

"The Smart Stepfamily Marriage is the most up-to-date, relevant, complete guide for remarried couples--I know of no other resource like it."--Francesca Adler-Baeder, PhD, professor and director, Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Auburn University; director, National Stepfamily Resource Center

"This book will help you thrive in your marriage and beat the odds of divorce. The preventative information is the best I have ever seen, and the practical application covers it all. I have put The Smart Stepfamily Marriage at the top of my resource library for couples who find themselves in this beautiful and yet challenging world of remarriage."--Jim Burns, PhD, president, HomeWord, author of Creating an Intimate Marriage, Confident Parenting, and The Purity Code

"Remarriages have unique challenges and different relational needs than first marriages. Based on a national study of 50,000 couples, this book is a wonderful resource for remarriage couples. Take the online Couple Checkup and get a report about your relationship, read the book, and build a relationship that lasts!"--Dr. Gary Smalley, author of The DNA of Relationships

"You want a marriage that lasts forever, right? Blended family couples can beat the odds--this book will tell you how."--Dr. Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife, author of Stepping Up

Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is president of Smart Stepfamilies, directs the blended family ministry at FamilyLife, and is the author of more than a dozen books and resources, including Dating and the Single Parent and Building Love Together in Blended Families (with Dr. Gary Chapman). Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular conference speaker, and host of the podcast FamilyLife Blended. He and his wife, Nan, have been married since 1986 and have three boys, a daughter-in-law, and grandchildren they adore.

David H. Olson, PhD, is founder and president of Life Innovations, which produces a variety of products designed to build stronger marriages. A national and international marriage and family expert, Olson is professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota and the author of more than twenty books. Dr. Olson has appeared on a variety of television programs including Today, The Early Show, Good Morning America, and Oprah. He lives in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.