Shawn Simon

I foolishly thought being a stepmom would be easy because I work with kids. Kids love me. When I found myself single again at the age of thirty-eight, I figured I’d most likely meet someone with children and thought being a stepmom would be ideal.

Did I mention it was a foolish thought? Step-mothering was not easy at all. Many factors never crossed my mind: the grief the kids felt due to their parents’ divorce, them not wanting another mother figure, my presence being further proof their parents would not be getting back together. None of those concerns entered my mind.

When I looked for books to help, I found several self-help, academic type books, but I don’t care for books like that. I prefer stories from real people struggling with similar issues. I wanted to hear first-hand how they handled the challenges they encountered. I found zero books with stepmom stories, so I decided to be the first to write one. I interviewed fourteen stepmoms to hear their stories. Meeting with those women and hearing about their struggles and successes was so therapeutic. Knowing we are not alone can bring such comfort. I think of my book as a stepmom support group in writing.

“Stepping into a New Role, Stories from Stepmoms” is a collection of real-life stories from real stepmoms. It is available on my website: stepmom shawn.com