Life Advice
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Asking Eric: Daughter’s drawing hurts mother’s feelings
Dear Eric: I have a typical 15-year-old teenage girl. She is my world and I do everything I can for her, knowing the general cold teenage response I will get. It usually doesn’t bother me.
Recently she has been wanting money for hanging out. There was a contest from my employer to draw a safety picture and win $100. She decided to enter it, ...Read more
Dead-End Relationship
Dear Annie: I met my boyfriend, "Tyler," almost six years ago. For the past two years, I've been wondering whether he truly loves me. There is very little physical contact between us. We're intimate maybe once a year. If I try to touch him at night, he pulls away, even if my foot just brushes against his. He only kisses me and says he loves me ...Read more
Judgmental Sister Demands Childcare Commitment
DEAR ABBY: My twin sister and her husband are expecting their first child. I run a small business with my father. Although I work hard, neither of them seems to see or acknowledge my efforts. They consider me to be "sponging" off my father. They also disapprove of my relationship with my boyfriend because we have chosen to remain unmarried and ...Read more
Asking Eric: Sister’s ongoing conflict with father cause family stress
Dear Eric: I'm writing about my 64-year-old sister I'll call "Beth."
We are three sisters. Mom passed away nine years ago. Dad is 89, living in another province.
For her own reasons Beth has a hatred toward him. She complains she gets a 45-second call once a week about how he drank and gambled away the money he got from a brother.
I look at ...Read more
Daughter's Fall Causes Pain For Whole Family
DEAR HARRIETTE: My teenage daughter recently fell down the stairs and became paralyzed from the waist down. The adjustment has been difficult on her and the rest of our family. She used to be a very active girl who loved to play sports, and now she can't, which has caused her to become depressed. She has to watch from the sidelines, and I can ...Read more
Doing the Work but Still a Work in Progress
Dear Annie: A lot of things improved when I got sober five years ago. I left a toxic job and started my own business, where I've made some good friends. I improved my relationship with my kids, now 7 and 9, so much that I became the preferred parent. I'm even healthier thanks to a new dog who loves walking and comes almost everywhere with me. ...Read more
Daughter With Grudges Makes Herself Hard To Love
DEAR ABBY: I have three grown children and seven grandchildren. I have solid relationships with my oldest and youngest, their spouses and their children. My middle daughter, "Hope," has always been distant. I've tried for years to build a relationship with her and her children.
Hope has suffered from mental and physical illness most of her life...Read more
Asking Eric: Coworker in toxic workplace wonders ‘am I the drama?’
Dear Eric: I really cannot tell if I’m the problem at work. I’ve been on a team for the last four years. We mainly focus on one project. Other members of the team have joined or fallen away, but the core group has been largely the same.
At the beginning I had my doubts about some of the people and their work styles. A few members seemed to ...Read more
Zoom Gaffe Causes Worry At Work
DEAR HARRIETTE: While I was in a Zoom meeting for work, I didn't realize I wasn't muted, and I shouted out how boring the meeting was and how I didn't give a crap about what we were talking about. The entire meeting went silent after I said it, and I immediately realized everyone had heard me. To make matters worse, my boss was at this meeting. ...Read more
Marriage Has Lost Its Get-Up-and-Go
Dear Annie: I've been married only a few short years. My husband and I used to go out and have fun; we'd do things like day trips to the beach or going out to eat, just to get out of the house.
Over the past few years, he has decided that his favorite pastime is sitting on the sofa. If I mention going somewhere, he comes up with an excuse: it...Read more
Couple Chooses Vacation Over Repaying Generous Friend
DEAR ABBY: A year ago, a supposed friend of mine asked to borrow some money. Her husband had left the country so he could renew his visa to come back and work. They have kids. The wife's car was repossessed while he was gone, and she had no way to get to work. She borrowed $3,000 from me to get her car back. A few months later, she borrowed ...Read more
Asking Eric: After inheriting money, friend worries about making friends uncomfortable
Dear Eric: My husband and I are the fortunate recipients of our parents' inheritances. We worked hard and lived within our means, so we are secure in our retirement, and this money is not needed but a generous gift.
I would like to use this money for enrichment of my life and my friends’ lives, like picking up the check or paying for vacation...Read more
Dad Wants Daughter To Follow His Wishes
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a 22-year-old daughter who recently graduated college and moved back home. In high school, she developed obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety, and she missed a lot of social growth as a result. A couple of years ago, she started dating a guy I don't like. He is controlling; before they even started dating, he'd always...Read more
Son's Free Ride Gets Expensive
Dear Annie: My best friend of over 20 years has a son that is her world. Her entire life revolves around him. What I've noticed is that he has become such a master of manipulation that either she ignores it or she truly doesn't see it.
For example, he recently transferred colleges to accept an athletic scholarship. He insisted his car, a 2025...Read more
Father Appalled As Daughter Leads On Classmate
DEAR ABBY: My wife and I are the proud parents of a popular, beautiful, charming and usually well-meaning 16-year-old girl. However, some of her recent behavior is causing serious concern.
"Lindsey" is part of her class's "in" crowd. Still, she's engaging and friendly to everyone, which is a value my wife and I have worked to instill in her. ...Read more
Ask Anna: Do I uproot my life for the woman I love?
Dear Anna,
Here’s the condensed version. I’ve been with my partner for three years, and from the day we met she’s talked about moving overseas someday. I always supported that in theory, but then we fell in love, and “someday” quietly slipped to the background. Last week she told me she’s accepted a job in Ireland and leaves in ...Read more
Men and Undependence
There I was, sitting in the middle of a good-sized amphitheater, guest guru for a large Seattle group of singles assembled for a local television show. The young host had me on the hot seat. I was the central focus for questions from the audience. All was going smoothly, when from the back row came a plaintive cry: "My wife died last month, and ...Read more
Ask Dating Coach Erika: Are we doomed?
I get so many questions asking some variation of, “This thing happened or is about to happen. Are we doomed?” Some things are doomable offenses, sure. But many can be worked around or dealt with.
Rather than having a catastrophic reaction, it’s important to drill down to the actual topic at hand to see if it’s really so black and white...Read more
Asking Eric: Teacher traumatized by students’ crises
Dear Eric: I have been a teacher for 19 years. I have seen a lot. As a mandated reporter I have had to make the call to the authorities with some frequency. I have also had other children who had prior abuse and I was always a shoulder to cry on when needed. I have felt intense sadness at times, as when a student’s sibling was murdered. I ...Read more
Man's Expectations Leave Woman Taken Aback
DEAR HARRIETTE: I started dating a guy a couple of months ago. We're still getting to know each other, and recently he told me something new about himself, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Sometimes we spend the night together, and yes, if you're wondering, when we do, we are usually physically intimate. Recently, he invited me over for a ...Read more






















