...in a nutshell! Not only has she identified them in all of their quirky insanity, but she's actually given me tactics to deal with them. I only wish I'd had this guide BEFORE the 2 week vacation...not after!
I then brought the book on vacation with my own family and everyone flipped through and got something out of it. (One cousin was overheard saying, repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's them, exactly!!) Married, dating or single, everyone can find humor and survival tactics in this fun and informative read.

I bought one for my mother, prodded by some "issues" our family was having with in-laws. Within days she was reading favorite passages to her sister over the phone and mailing out gift copies to friends. I wasnt at all surprised by her reaction--it's a genuinely funny book.

You've spent your life thinking your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins all have
"bizarre quirks"that you've learned to embrace but surely you've avoided
telling anyone else about for fear they might just think that wierdness
is genetic and you might be one step away from the looneybin yourself.
Then comes the day when you meet someone who loves you no matter how crazy
you might be and you meet their family and come to the realization that
your family is vanilla compared to the rainbow sherbert that will be your
future in-laws. "I Heart My In-Laws" is a humourous take on all the
different varieties (and several you may not have thought of) of in-laws
you could end up with and how to navigate the treacherous waves of
expected familial bonding that awaits you. The author's filmmaking
sensibilities are noticible as she is quite deft at conjuring up
descriptive scenarios that read like you are watching a scene from a film
unfold. Everything from slapstick to moments of drama are present and
the author does an excellent job of keeping these incidents in perspective
of the larger goal of creating an amicable relationship with your in-laws.
While the text is certainly geared more towards female readers, boyfriends
and future husbands will undoubtedly get some laughs from reading it,
and more importantly learn a thing or two about dealing with their future
in-laws as well. The book also has some witty charts and quizes that will
definitely put a smile on your face as your realize not only what kind of
in-laws you have, but what kind of parents you have as well. Definitely
makes a great engagement present.

Spending a week at the beach house with your in-laws sounded like a good idea back in March when you planned it, but after 36 hours you're ready to burn the place to the ground just to escape...well, don't commit arson. Get this book instead.

It's hilarious, but real in talking about relationships, in-laws and coping with the madness it brings on. And the different stories and anecdotes give you the same zip of schadenfreude that Dear Abby does - man, I thought I had it bad, but these stories are much worse! The next time the eight hour epic discussion about how to cook the Thanksgiving turkey makes you crazy, retreat to a corner with this book for some quiet reading time.

It's a genuinely fun book that lots of people can identify with, and I totally am giving it to married friends for Christmas - and engaged gals can plan on getting it from me for their showers! (Buying a stack of like ten of the same book and keeping them on hand to give out for various birthdays and holidays is a technique I picked up from...my father-in-law! But don't tell him. I'd never hear the end of it.)

I <3 my In-laws is a book one can take both light heartedly as well as seriously. This is a book that is set up to both entertain the reader, as well as to give them tips on how to survive their in-laws. I found myself laughing at some points and thinking of what I just read as something that was funny, but not to be actually used when dealing with my in-laws, and at other parts I found myself making a mental note to try that specific tactic next time I saw my mother in law.

In chapter two, Know Thy Enemy, Dina Koutas Poch breaks down in-laws into seven categories, some of which are: the dead in-law, the drama queen in-law, the scary in-law, and manipulator in-law. She proceeds to tell you what they are like and how you can basically handle them. What I like best is how Dina switches back and fourth from simple entertainment in her words, to very wise words. At the end of this book you could walk away from it feeling light hearted and amused instead of exhausted and bombarded with straight up facts on dealing with in-laws.

A perfect example of advice on the manipulator in-law is "Instead of quietly drowning in the pressurized tide pool of guilt, stand your ground. Your in-law says `my other daughter in-law always picks me up at the airport. I never take an airport shuttle.' You respond `so what you're saying is that I'm a bad daughter in-law?' If she's mad, make her say it! The emperor has no clothes!" I grin, I laugh, and I make a mental note. This is the beauty of the book; No stress, no frantically writing things down, no feeling like this is a book that was assigned by a professor who plans on testing how much you memorized.

As a recently married woman, I got a kick out of reading this because you got to feel like you weren't alone. I thought I was the only one who had in-laws who always talked about the negative side of life and acted as though the world were about to end, other wise known as `The Harbinger of Bad News In-law'. I thought I was just not being patient enough with this particular in-law of mine and would walk out after a visit feeling as though a black cloud were hanging over my head. This book gave some great advice on how to combat some of the negativity and force some positive things into the conversation.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is going to meet their in-laws for the first time. This way, when you find out something creepy, or odd, or just plain annoying about an in-law, you'll most likely already have read something similar in this book, so you won't feel quite so alone. Also, because of the amazing humor in the book, meeting your `Scary in-law' won't be so scary because you will already have some tricks up your sleeve to bring to the table! `Would you drink prune juice on an empty stomach and drive away from a bathroom? And, please don't go to places with your in-law where cell phone service falters. Remember there is safety in numbers. Such as 9-1-1.