The Remarriage Blueprint: How Remarried Couples and Their Families Succeed or Fail

Though divorce and remarriage rates are on the rise, the dynamics of blended families are not well understood. They function differently than traditional families, and troubleshooting can be extremely difficult. Scarf (Intimate Partners), a visiting fellow at Yale University’s Whitney Humanities Center, draws from extensive interviews she conducted over the course of more than a decade, examining possible remarriage scenarios—both good and bad—and solutions to common problems. Right off the bat, she warns readers that remarriage will likely require even more hard work and understanding in order to be successful than a first marriage. She bases her analysis on Dr. Patricia Papernow’s “architectural model” and goes through each of five “structural” challenges to be expected in a remarriage (e.g., “the uniting of two disparate family cultures” and the friction of different parenting styles), as well as “the Great Unspoken”: money. Scarf’s writing is technical but accessible, however her advice is relatively ho-hum. Still, the eight extended case studies featured in the book offer intimate and candid glimpses of the struggles faced by remarried couples and their families. Agent: Melanie Jackson, Melanie Jackson Agency. (Sept.)