Aug 29, 2026 · 49 min · 18 segments
Whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, it can be difficult to usher a stepparent in and out of the family unit. In today’s episode, the Sugars answer letters from stepchildren who have fraught…
Cheryl StrayedHost
Theo Pauline NestorGuest
Steve AlmondHost
And this is because for longtime listeners, you know, we've talked about step parents in a couple of different episodes.
And each time our letter writers, thank you, basically filled our inbox with questions about whether we're going to handle the experience of being a stepchild.
And I think that it's one of those really rare times that we're forced to be very intimate with people sometimes that we don't even like.
One thing that does get, I think, overlooked when we talk about step-parents, and especially we've heard on our stepmother's episode, you know, we've got the evil stepmother in every fairy tale, and then we've got this sort of shady, predatory stepfather.
But I think what does get overlooked is that there's also beautiful relationships sometimes.
And I can speak personally to kind of like both sides of this, the hard stuff and the lovely stuff.
And, you know, I think that that experience has been one that deeply transformed my life because I did have the love of a man.
I think that that helped me in so many ways heal the wounds that my father made by his abuse and abandonment of me.
And this is because for longtime listeners, you know, we've talked about step parents in a couple of different episodes.
And each time our letter writers, thank you, basically filled our inbox with questions about whether we're going to handle the experience of being a stepchild.
And I think that it's one of those really rare times that we're forced to be very intimate with people sometimes that we don't even like.
One thing that does get, I think, overlooked when we talk about step-parents, and especially we've heard on our stepmother's episode, you know, we've got the evil stepmother in every fairy tale, and then we've got this sort of shady, predatory stepfather.
But I think what does get overlooked is that there's also beautiful relationships sometimes.
And I can speak personally to kind of like both sides of this, the hard stuff and the lovely stuff.
And, you know, I think that that experience has been one that deeply transformed my life because I did have the love of a man.
I think that that helped me in so many ways heal the wounds that my father made by his abuse and abandonment of me.
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