We all know-and have perhaps told-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? 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. In this book, she 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...