Does your mother-in-law still buy your husband underwear? Show up at your home unannounced? Do you keep hoping that aliens will kidnap her? If so, you must have MILDEW! MILDEW, the playful acronym for Mothers-In-Law Do Everything Wrong, has allowed authors Liz Bluper and Renee Plastique to conduct covert conversations about their MILDEWs for the last decade--without drawing the ire of their husbands. As humorous stories accumulated over the years, they began to broaden their MILDEW storytelling circle. Soon, that circle spanned the globe, resulting in the first-ever truly fun humor book on mothers-in-law. From the all-too-revealing quiz to the laugh-out-loud stories to the Hey, that really might work strategies, this book gives new meaning to the word MILDEW. MILDEW gave me a Thigh Master for Christmas one year. --Margot, Connecticut When I was pregnant with my first child, a son, MILDEW wanted us to name him after her husband, Ken. My husband and I, however, decided to name our son Jacob. MILDEW refused to accept this, and proceeded to call our son Ken. What's up with that? --Gretchen, Maine Running the gamut from famous MILDEWs--such as the queen of England--to everyday MILDEWs just like yours, this witty insightful book transcends age, gender, culture, geography, and time. The hysterical tales of holiday chaos, helpful child-rearing advice, pre-wedding moments of horror, and MILDEW gift giving gone awry will keep you laughing and dying to share it with your friends.

It's one of the oldest triangles: mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and the son/husband trapped in between. Now, Susan Barash gives readers the tools to better understand the insecurities, generational jealousies and power struggles that are inherent in these relationships. Combining candid accounts from real mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law with sound advice from noted psychologists and counselors, Barash gives insight into this complex dynamic and shows readers how to create mutually independent and rewarding relationships that allow mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law and sons/husbands to grow.

We all know - have perhaps told a few - stories about mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. It seems the stories are nearly always about relationships filled with conflict and abrasive words or actions. But why is this relationship so difficult? And is it always as bad as popular belief would have us think? Deborah Merrill, a woman's advocate and Sociology professor at one of our nation's top universities, has been studying the relationship for nearly a decade and, in this book, explains where the difficulty is rooted, how friendly pairs have made it past problems that surface between a man's mother and his wife, and how they became friends. Dozens of interviews with pairs of women made in-laws by marriage illustrate Merrill's points, from harmful ideas and actions to helpful approaches. At its core, this book holds that marriage requires the creation of a new and separate family, which requires changes in roles, as well as a redefinition of relationships. Hence, family boundaries need to be made permeable to allow for integration of the daughter-in-law, and to allow the son to create his own separate and autonomous family. Family members need to be aware of, and prepare for, this, says Merrill. That, of course, may be easier said than done. But dozens of women who have become friends with their in-laws — some so much so that they drop the in-law and just call each other mother and daughter — explain how they got past the old, popular notions and social structure, to create goodwill and grow stronger families.

Most of us either have a mother-in-law or will be one, and it's not a role most women take on gladly. Mothers-in-law are traditionally the butt of jokes, declared to be nasty, possessive and interfering - but are they really as bad as this reputation suggests? Luisa Dillner looks beyond the stereotype of the mother-in-law and finds they come in many different varieties, from loveable and loyal to lonely, ferocious and scheming. She traces their history, from Ancient Greece and Rome to modern times, through fairy tales and traditions, in this celebration of this most complicated of relationships.

This book is a comprehensive study of some ways of treating the subject that demonstrate new and unusual perspectives, and provides a different approach to the popularly-held views of mothers-in-law; and that further address these works as popular culture; and as texts in their own right from within the framework of literary theory; and as works that demonstrate the ability to reach and connect with, and satisfy, both the general reader, the student, and the scholar, from all levels and walks of life.