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Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
Stepmother is the memoir of Marianne Lile, a woman who falls in love and marries a man with two children. The honeymoon is over and Marianne arrives at her new home with a label around her neck – stepmom. To start with, she wholeheartedly embraced her new life, not realizing the trouble and the struggles that lay ahead of her. There’s no guide for this, no rule book to follow, and there sure as hell isn’t anyone who can teach her what to do. Marianne talks at length about the troubles she faced, not just with her stepchildren, but with her own family, with her husband’s family, and with all those people that sat in judgment, never once considering what Marianne might be going through. This is a story of great courage, of love and resentment, of hopes dashed and hopes fulfilled. This is a story of love. This is a story of family.
Stepmother: A Memoir by Marianne Lile is a story that comes close to me. I have that label of stepmom and although mine are grown up and living their own lives with children of their own, I understand only too well the struggles that Ms. Lile faced every single day. Living in the same house as the kids lived in with their mom is hard because there are always the constant thoughts of “this was her house”, “she chose this wallpaper” or “she planted that garden”. It is tough to step into another’s shoes, even though you are not filling them – simply because you can’t and you don’t want to. Marianne has written a great memoir here, from the heart, and I hope that it makes those who sit in judgment sit up and realize that they are at fault; there is no need to judge anyone. This no novel; this is a straight-shooting, no holds barred description of life as a stepmom and I defy anyone not to get drawn in and hooked, not to experience a whole range of emotions. And I defy anyone who isn’t from a blended family not to sit up and take note, to start realizing that a stepmom is still a mom, still a big part of a family and, above all, she is a human being who deserves respect.
