The DHX: The Doughtie Houses Exchange

The 312 Best Things About Being a Stepmom
by Cynthia L. Copeland
This little book is whimsical, comforting and — surprisingly — full of bits of wisdom. It looks like it’s going to be a funny book, and it is, but it’s more substantial than it looks. There are sections for new stepmoms, custodial stepmoms, stepmoms to [...]

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Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
“Over and over again, it has been my experience that, from the moment people begin talking about what they need rather than what’s wrong with one another, the possibility of finding ways to meet everybody’s needs is greatly increased.” — Marshall Rosenburg, Nonviolent Communication
Nonviolent Communication [...]

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Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
I think we have a tradition between houses of hinting about what we’d like for Christmas from each other. (I say “I think” because I’m not quite sure if it’s an official tradition, but, um, I follow it at least.) This year I asked Kathy for copies of a few [...]

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That’s Not What I Meant! How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships by Deborah Tannen
“The more contact people have with each other, the more opportunities both have to do things in their own way and be misunderstood. The only way they know of to solve problems is to talk things out, but if different ways [...]

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“Who knows how you should be? We simply do our best, over and over and over. In time, we lose all interest in our past.”
– Charlotte Joko Beck, Nothing Special: Living Zen

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