Ron L. Deal is the Director of FamilyLife Blended®, a ministry of FamilyLife®, and is the author/coauthor of the books The Smart Stepfamily, The Smart Stepdad, The Smart Stepmom, Dating and the Single Parent, and The SmartStepfamily Marriage. Ron is one of the most widely read authors on stepfamily living in the US. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist who frequently appears in the national media, including FamilyLife Today® and Focus on the Family, and he conducts marriage and family seminars around the world. Ron and his wife, Nan, have been married since 1986 and have three boys. Connor, their middle son, went to Heaven at age 12.