ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: Is my daughter headed into an abusive, controlling relationship, or am I imagining the signs because of my own experience with domestic abuse for many years? She is 18 and, of course, parents are idiots who don't understand anything. The young man tries to control where she is, won't let her go anywhere without him, and suspiciously ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband wants me to stop speaking to our adult children. He says they have both offended him, and he wants an apology from them.

My daughter didn't help him when he was out of the home for a few months and had nowhere to go. At the time, she was living in her boyfriend's grandparents' home. She had asked them if it was OK, but ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: How would you suggest I deal with people who continually want to sabotage my diet? I worked very hard to drop more than 30 pounds. I also have digestive health issues that are no one's business.

An example: During the coffee break at a meeting at work, someone offered me lovely homemade baked goods. I said, No, thank you. I then got ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I want to host a college graduation party for our son. The problem is, one of my sisters has four children -- three teenagers and an 11-year-old who doesn't behave at parties. My sister calls her Our Little Precious. She and her husband come to events, ignore the kids and want this to be their time to relax. Another ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend who is an alcoholic. I met her when we first moved here five years ago. At that time, I wasn't aware of her drinking problem. Over the years it has become very apparent. I have yelled at her, shown deep concern for her, threatened rehab, begged her to get help, etc.

She calls me late in the evening rambling on about ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 15 years. Before we married, I purchased a house. He moved in a month after our wedding and made a lot of improvements to it. We are now in the process of doing more renovations.

His mom moved in with us two months ago. Before she moved in, the plan was to take the downstairs -- which has a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend of 15 years is in prison. We have two children together. Our relationship has been rough. We had a fight, and he went to jail for it. Another reason he went to prison is he violated his probation and failed to report.

I take the kids to see him, and he still wants us to be together. He has nowhere to go when he gets out....Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband has a contentious relationship with our grandchildren. He generally is a fun, happy and interesting person. But by nature he is not hands on when it comes to children.

Our son and daughter have great spouses and five young grandsons. He stands around like a warden waiting for something to happen, then just yells at them. ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend is 31 and still goes to his mother's house and spends the night, even though we live less than 15 minutes away. He knows it upsets me, yet every time she asks him to spend the night, he goes. He left our children home alone while I worked overnight because it was her birthday.

His relationship with his mother is a large ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My father has been mostly absent from my life. We reconnected when I was an adult. I have always had feelings of abandonment, and because of this, I have constantly tried to build a relationship with him and allow him to have one with his grandchildren.

Dad met my friend of 10 years, Danielle, two months ago when I threw him a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: This is an open letter to all those women who write to you knowing their men cheated on them and then ask, Should I marry him? In their hearts they already know the answer; they just want YOU to tell them NO!

My mother saw my fiance's car around town, parked at various churches and parking lots. He parked there so I wouldn't see ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I had a boyfriend for two years until a few days ago. He's a 40-year-old easygoing paraplegic (from a car accident long before I met him), and I'm an easygoing 36-year-old woman with two kids from a previous marriage.

We had a great connection, a similar outlook on life and had the same interests in pretty much everything. He adored ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband barely speaks to me. We both work full time and are facing the empty nest very soon. At home, I have to initiate even the smallest of small talk. He'll never say Good morning or ask How was your day? Although I work hard to keep the house the way he likes it, he speaks up only to criticize the few times I don't meet his ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I've had an 18-year-old girlfriend for six months (I'm 24). She's a sweet girl who's caring, thoughtful and respectful. Every day typically goes well, and we never argue about anything -- except for when it comes to her health.

She is terrified of dentists and doctors. I used to be as well. But I have tried repeatedly to make her ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I was sexually abused by a sibling for 10 years during my childhood. I never told anyone what happened to me until I confided in my fiance after we were engaged. I have gone through counseling sessions and am at a place in my life where I am happy and healthy.

Currently, I have a relationship with my parents, but not with my sibling....Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am an 83-year-old mother of four. I have been living with my second husband now for 21 years. Nineteen years ago, my husband loaned one of my daughters and her husband a large sum of money so they could buy a house and pay off bills and judgments. All the necessary paperwork for the loan was signed at the time of the closing with a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband of 30-plus years cheated on me several years ago with one of his young private students. In our state, she would have been underage, but she was living in an adjacent state with different laws. I had just finished six months of nursing his mom to heaven. She had Alzheimer's, and he did very little to help.

We had one of ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: After an abusive relationship ended 14 years ago, I stayed single and raised my small son to adulthood. I dated here and there, but never found anyone I had serious feelings for who also felt the same way about me until seven months ago.

My feelings for my boyfriend are strong, and it's mutual. He is giving, kind, caring, hardworking...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband, Charlie, and I have been married for seven years. We are in our mid-60s. This is the second marriage for both of us. He was widowed some years before we met. We have a good marriage. He is sweet and caring, but one issue causes friction between us. It's about letters he and his late wife exchanged.

They were high school ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I recently found out I am pregnant. I'm only 17 and scared I won't be a good mother. I'm also anxious about giving birth. I'm due in three months, so I know time is going by fast.

My mother never taught me right from wrong, and having to raise a child at my age is really scary. I don't want to give my baby up for adoption because I ...Read more