Stepfamilies are created as a result of loss from either death or divorce of a spouse. Dealing with the past to move toward the future is a critical step in the formation of restructured families. Healing from past losses is often a painful process and one that nuclear families do not have to face. Nonetheless, couples and children can prosper, creating nurturing and loving households. Newly formed stepfamilies can transform surviving to thriving if built on solid foundations of mutual respect, realistic expectations and solid commitments combined with patience and understanding. Empathy, effective communications and an acceptance that stepfamilies differ from first families will help couples and children resolve problems and lessen stressors that come with family restructuring.

Some Stepfamily Statistics:

• 50 to 62% of all first marriages end in divorce.
• 60% of second marriages fail.
• 75% of divorced persons will eventually remarry.
• 50% of children in the United States will experience parental divorce before they are eighteen years of age.
• 65% of remarriages involve children from prior marriages.

	Daryle R. Woodward, Ph.D. is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has over thirty years experience counseling individuals, couples and families in a variety of settings. Dr. Woodward is a stepchild himself and a professional affiliate of the Stepparent Association of America. He and his wife, Patti, have entered their second decade as stepparents. Their stepfamily includes seven children between the ages of nineteen and thirty-seven and two grandchildren! Their book originated from the shared experiences of clients in their weekend workshop, "Getting in Step - Staying in Stept(tm)," their personal lives, and information gleaned from Dr. Woodward's private counseling practice.