The Daughter-in-Law Rules by Sally Shields

The full title of this 4 star book actually is The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law! and there are some really smart ones! I don’t have any major issues with my fiancé’s mother, but if I ever do, I know just where to go for help.

The Daughter-in-Law Rules is broken up into very easy to navigate Parts: The Newlywed - On House and Home - Her Beloved Son - Before and After the Baby - Most of All. Each Part has its own smaller sections with pertinent rules. Best yet, it’s battle-tested. According to the Foreword (written by the author herself) this book was born

“whenever a bothersome incident would pop into my head, I jotted down longhand, on the back of napkins and any other scraps of paper I could get my hands on, a new strategy for dealing with my MIL. … Though this exercise started off as a tongue-in-cheek coping mechanism, once I began putting a few of these rules into practice, I noticed that my MIL’s attitude started to shift. I began to see her softer, gentler, more agreeable side …”

The Daughter-in-Law Rules should be given to all brides-to-be by their own mothers or their maid/matron of honor. Preferably when said Mother-in-Law is NOT looking! The book can be purchased most anywhere (Barnes and Noble & Amazon just to name two).