The Daughter-In-Law's Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Relating to Your Mother-In-Law

by Bowditch, Eden Unger

• ISBN13: 9781572242814
• ISBN10: 1572242817
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: New Harbinger Pubns Inc

Summary

This hands-on manual makes it possible to reclaim the husband-wife relationship while surviving--and even improving--the frequently tumultuous relationship with a mother-in-law.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
A Rose by Any Other Name
How We Came to Write This Book
How to Use This Book
Part I: The Good
When she was good she was very, very good
Where Do We Stand? An Overview	7	(26)
What Is a Good Relationship?
Number One: Wife or Mother?
What to Expect
Common Ground
Personality Issues
Great Expectations
Marrying the Family
The Line in the Sand a Marking the Boundaries
Boundary Lines and Proximity
Feedback and Boundary Lines
Second-Chance Family
Daughter/Mentor/Friend
Summary Questions
How Good Is Good?	33	(14)
Is Good Always Good?
Acknowledging Differences
Playing an Active Role
Making Room for Good
Summary Questions
Your Spouse's Family	47	(20)
Family Circles
Relearning Family Skills
The Kinkeepers
Men Without Sisters
Just Call Me ``Mom''
Is It Good for You?
Where Do You Go from Here?
Summary Questions
Part II: The Bad
But when she was bad
Bad Meaning Bad	67	(10)
Is It Really So Bad?
But We Share So Much
When Things Go Wrong
Summary Questions
The Space Between	77	(22)
The Continental Divide and Other Chasms
Getting Colder
Mrs. Mother- In- Law
His Mother's Child
A Different Me
Children and Family Dynamics
Summary Questions
Stand by Your Woman	99	(24)
The Woman of the House
Helping Hands
Balancing Act
My Husband Your Son
Honey, Are You Home?
What's in a Daughter?
Bad Break
Where Do You Go from Here?
Part III: The Ugly
She was horrid!
Unforgivable?	123	(12)
Behavior That Hurts
Things That Cannot Be Unsaid
Second-Class Citizen
Summary Questions
The Pain and the Damage Done	135	(12)
How Could You Have Known?
Dysfunctional from the Start
Ugly in the Eye
Ugly on Trial
Summary Questions
Negotiating the Chasm	147	(14)
Unbreakable Marriage
Accepting an Unacceptable Situation
Severing Ties Should You Stay or Should You Go?
Where Do You Go from Here?
Summary Questions
Advice from Daughters- in- Law to Daughters-in-Law	161	(4)
References	165