Second Wives: The Pitfalls and Rewards of Marrying Widowers and Divorced Men

by Susan Shapiro Barash

Book Overview

With more than half of all marriages ending in divorce, the number of women faced with the prospect of becoming second wives is at a record high. This compassionate and timely guide to remarriage... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0882821822
• ISBN13: 9780882821825
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: New Horizon Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This book was very helpful

It doesn't look like there are any other reviewers who really have dealt with the problems of being a second wife. I thought Susan covered all the bases pretty well. I have been a second wife for five years, to a man still dealing with the hang-ups of that failed relationship. I came to our relationship fresh and ready to make a life with this man, but found myself in a triangle instead - the other woman simply (still) refuses to move on - and feeling helpless. Ms. Barash's book gave me the insights I needed to save my relationship. She helped me focus on US, get my mind out of the rut it had fallen into, by simply validating the many fears and problems, but more - by helping me focus on the REWARDS. She made me see I was actually feeding the problems with my unrealistic expectations, rather than dealing with reality. Thank you, Ms. Barash - your book empowered me. You helped me get that nasty thorn out of my side.

Second Wives: The Pitfalls and Rewards

Every marriage requires adjustments from each partner. Women who become the second wives of previously married men find themselves facing special problems and adjustments. In Second Wives: The Pitfalls and Rewards of Marrying Widowers and Divorced Men, Susan Shapiro Barash explores the dilemmas and successes of these wives. Barash speaks from experience--she's been a second wife twice and this is her fourth book involving personal relationships. She interviewed hundreds of women from a variety of socio-economic and age groups. Although each woman's story is unique, Barash was able to divide them into twelve general categories, such as women dealing with a vengeful first wife, women coping with stepchildren, and women with less life experience than their husbands. She devotes a chapter to each of the categories. The chapters are filled with stories from women describing the particular problems they faced and how they dealt with them. Some women forged successful marriages, and some did not. Many are still struggling. Each chapter also includes helpful advice and commentary from numerous experts. Women contemplating marrying a man who has been divorced or widowed will find that Second Wives will help prepare them for the challenges ahead. Those who are already second wives will appreciate learning how others have handled the unique problems they must resolve to make their own marriages happy and healthy.

Insightful and Informative

Marriage is a tough haul when neither party's been married before, but when one party brings lots of other issues to the table, it's even tougher. Susan Shapiro Barash explores all the ups and downs that come with marrying someone who has an ex -- and gives you much food for thought. She's a gutsy lady -- having been a second wife twice. If all goes the way I'd like it to, I too may have the "second wife" moniker attached to me one day. At least, with Barash's book, I know exactly what I'm getting into, for better or worse. Thank you Susan Shapiro Barash for always dealing with women's issues that are close to our hearts, even if we don't always know it at the time.

A "must" read for any woman.

Second Wives: The Pitfalls And Reward Of Marrying Widowers And Divorced Men guides women through the problematic issues of a second marriage. A second wife herself, author Susan Barash shares her own experiences, as well as that of over a hundred other second wives, and the expertise of psychologists and counselors in exploring the emotional and practical problems that second marriages can face. Like first wives, second wives will inevitably encounter relationship problems, financial realities, and child-rearing frustrations. But unlike first wives, second wives must deal with the baggage of the earlier marriage and often must compete with the demands of wife number one with respect to finances, children, and relatives. Second Wives is informative and valued reading for anyone woman anticipating marriage to a widower or divorcee, as well as second wives who have already taken the plunge and seeking ways to cope with their own particular circumstances and frustrations.

Fascinating, informative reading.

Second Wives guides women through the problematic issues of a second marriage. A second wife herself, author Susan Barash shares her own experiences, as well as that of over a hundred other second wives, and the expertise of psychologists and counselors in exploring the emotional and practical problems that second marriages can face. Like first wives, second wives will inevitably encounter relationship problems, financial realities, and child-rearing frustrations. But unlike first wives, second wives must deal with the baggage of the earlier marriage and often must compete with the demands of wife number one with respect to finances, children, and relatives. Second Wives is informative and valued reading for anyone woman anticipating marriage to a widower or divorcee, as well as second wives who have already taken the plunge and seeking ways to cope with their own particular circumstances and frustrations.