I Heart My In-Laws: Falling in Love with His Family--One Passive-Aggressive, Over-Indulgent, Grandkid-Craving, Streisand-Loving, Bible-Thu

by Dina Koutas Poch

Book Overview

A practical, laugh-out-loud guide to adopting your man's family--from your first date to your firstborn

Girlfriends, fianc es, and wives rejoice Here, at last, is a book you can turn to in times of stress, panic, and family vacations to the smallest cottage ever built on the island of Nantucket. Mirroring the natural progression of a relationship and incorporating interviews from women just like you, this hilarious, savvy guide will...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805082794
• ISBN13: 9780805082791
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Not just for married people or for women - helped me out with my girlfriend's parents

I had been dating my girlfriend for about 6 months and was very nervous about meeting her parents. I bought this book after seeing Dina Koutas on the Today Show and thought it would be another chic lit type book - how wrong I was! The book is witty and enjoyable, but more importantly, gave me an idea of not just how to act, but what to expect. Definitely recommend this for guys that are meeting parents for the first time who also want a good laugh and appreciate a well penned book.

That's them!!

...in a nutshell! Not only has she identified them in all of their quirky insanity, but she's actually given me tactics to deal with them. I only wish I'd had this guide BEFORE the 2 week vacation...not after! I then brought the book on vacation with my own family and everyone flipped through and got something out of it. (One cousin was overheard saying, repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's them, exactly!!) Married, dating or single, everyone can find humor and survival tactics in this fun and informative read.

And You think your family is weird...

You've spent your life thinking your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins all have "bizarre quirks"that you've learned to embrace but surely you've avoided telling anyone else about for fear they might just think that wierdness is genetic and you might be one step away from the looneybin yourself. Then comes the day when you meet someone who loves you no matter how crazy you might be and you meet their family and come to the realization that your family is vanilla compared to the rainbow sherbert that will be your future in-laws. "I Heart My In-Laws" is a humourous take on all the different varieties (and several you may not have thought of) of in-laws you could end up with and how to navigate the treacherous waves of expected familial bonding that awaits you. The author's filmmaking sensibilities are noticible as she is quite deft at conjuring up descriptive scenarios that read like you are watching a scene from a film unfold. Everything from slapstick to moments of drama are present and the author does an excellent job of keeping these incidents in perspective of the larger goal of creating an amicable relationship with your in-laws. While the text is certainly geared more towards female readers, boyfriends and future husbands will undoubtedly get some laughs from reading it, and more importantly learn a thing or two about dealing with their future in-laws as well. The book also has some witty charts and quizes that will definitely put a smile on your face as your realize not only what kind of in-laws you have, but what kind of parents you have as well. Definitely makes a great engagement present.

Better than a murderous rage!

Spending a week at the beach house with your in-laws sounded like a good idea back in March when you planned it, but after 36 hours you're ready to burn the place to the ground just to escape...well, don't commit arson. Get this book instead. It's hilarious, but real in talking about relationships, in-laws and coping with the madness it brings on. And the different stories and anecdotes give you the same zip of schadenfreude that Dear Abby does - man, I thought I had it bad, but these stories are much worse! The next time the eight hour epic discussion about how to cook the Thanksgiving turkey makes you crazy, retreat to a corner with this book for some quiet reading time. It's a genuinely fun book that lots of people can identify with, and I totally am giving it to married friends for Christmas - and engaged gals can plan on getting it from me for their showers! (Buying a stack of like ten of the same book and keeping them on hand to give out for various birthdays and holidays is a technique I picked up from...my father-in-law! But don't tell him. I'd never hear the end of it.)

Witty, well-written, and informative!

I bought this on impulse for my sister, who is getting married at the end of the summer. She read the whole thing in a weekend and then gave it back to me and said that I needed to read it too (I've been married for about six months now). I balked at first, since I'm a guy and the book is clearly aimed at a female audience, but I ended up reading through the whole thing in two sittings. The author has a writing style that's friendly, humorous, occasionally sobering, and always readable. And despite the overall light-hearted tone of the book, there's a ton of good, practical advice in here. After I finished it my wife started reading it, so I ended up buying another copy for my sister. If any of my other female friends or relatives get married, I'll probably give them a copy as well. I'm still not sure I would give it to my guy friends, although I'm sure some of them could use the advice ... how about a version for men?