Not all stepmothers are evil, says Malaysian author

Yuri wrote a book to provide the alternative perspective on blended families, and to make the perception of stepmothers more neutral and balanced.

When Ian Schneider was three, he asked his parents, Yuri Tiru Pillai, 34, and Sven Schneider, 41, an unexpected question: “Why is Mimi (his stepmother) light brown, but I’m peach? Why is Papa and Mami (birth mother) peach?”

This is because Ian, now five, is of German-Chinese parentage, while his stepmother Yuri is of Indian-Chinese parentage, and his father Sven, German.