ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I'm a professional, well-educated adult who moved back home because of concerns about my father's health as well as having landed a much better job. As an extra perk, I've been able to save money to pay toward my student loans, as well as spoil my parents a bit as they grow older.

I recently gifted my parents (for the second time) ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My niece, "Elle," and her husband, "Liam," have been self-employed for 20 years, but due to the economy, Liam decided to go into the workforce. He is now employed at a state job with great pay and benefits for them and their four children.

Our family is elated for him and his family, except Elle. It's unbelievable how determined she ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a gay man who matched with another guy on a dating site two years ago this month. At first, we texted constantly. No one has ever made me feel the way he made me feel through texting alone. He displayed qualities that set him apart from anyone else I have talked to. We made a date, but he canceled at the last minute because of ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have dated for seven months. We have a good relationship in terms of compatibility. We are both Christian and educated, and we have good professions. We are fun-loving and both of us like to invest and travel. He enjoys my company and says I am the girl with the best qualities he's ever dated.

But I do have one ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My oldest daughter, "Kate," is 22. Her baby is now 6 months old. She is the first grandchild and great-grandchild. Kate refuses to allow my mom to hold her baby. My mom has held the baby a couple of times, but my daughter immediately swooped in and took the baby from her. During the last family gathering, Kate wouldn't let me hold the...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am trying to come to terms with the passing of my wife, "Charlotte," a month ago. Many old friends and family have been supportive. What hurts, in addition to my grief, is the silence from a particular couple.

For years, we were very close with this family when we both had young boys growing up. We celebrated all the joys and life-...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm in a sexless 25-year marriage. It was not always this way, but any intimacy has been over for more than a decade. My wife's libido has waned, which I understand. What she does do is continually bring up issues about me from years ago as if they were yesterday.

I have my faults, like lack of communication and shutting down, which ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a soft-spoken person. I work in a medical laboratory, and I am finally speaking up for what I believe in (after years of social anxiety and depression). At the last meeting, when asked by the manager for suggestions to improve the lab workflow, I spoke up.

Fast-forward to tonight. When I expressed some excitement about my idea, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: This is the third time I have received a gift of a political book from my brother-in-law! We are poles apart politically. It came with a message to "please read the book THIS time." He is expecting a book report and discussion of the book when he next visits.

He started doing this several years ago after my sister died. She used to ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have known each other for 25 years. We married five years ago. At that time, I was making 500-mile round trips twice a month to visit my children from my first marriage. I was, and still am, crazy about her.

However, two years ago, my wife admitted to a long-term romantic affair with a married man who has two children. ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Five years ago, I was diagnosed with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). It manifests itself with sudden outbursts of anger when I'm stressed, which is often. I have three sisters, two of whom are bossy and try to take over and control every little thing. I have always had a difficult relationship with one of them. When she stresses ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My brother (eight years younger) has been hooked on drugs and in and out of jail for decades. Our father passed away five years ago. My brother lived with him in a different state until then. Prior to that, he stole from our mother and from me repeatedly.

He's a criminal and is currently in jail. When he's not in jail, he is homeless...Read more

DEAR ABBY: It seems I am a human landfill into which people dump their trauma. I'm not sure how this happened. It started three years ago, when an estranged friend called me and talked for more than an hour about what had led to him getting fired from his job. I was touched that he had reached out, and I expected us to resume our friendship, but...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I need a second opinion. My grandfather sold me an old farmstead that has been in the family for 200 years. Last week, he showed me a wooded area behind the barn with a human skull. He told me that when his father died more than 50 years ago, he was curious about how long it would take a body to decompose, so he left his body in the ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: After 28 years, my wife left me "to find herself." She says she doesn't want a divorce; she just needs time and space to work on herself, but she also wants to work on our marriage. She doesn't want to talk, text or contact me.

My question is, how are we supposed to work on our marriage with no contact? What am I supposed to do? I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been friends with another couple for many years. We would get together occasionally, and we mostly enjoyed their company. When the house across the street from ours became available, they bought it.

Not long after they moved in, the wife began copying our interior and exterior design elements and one night stood...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a millennial. I am successful in my career and lucky to have a loving husband and two amazing children. I am, however, trying to remind myself to be "better and not bitter" in another huge area of my life.

The world is changing so quickly, especially in the field of in vitro fertilization. I know I have much to be thankful for, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 30-year-old woman who can't seem to forgive my mother. For many years I have felt that she doesn't like me. Every time I have tried to talk to her about it, she has done the old switcheroo and accused me of being ungrateful and uncaring. The day my horse died she excluded me, and then called an hour later to tell me she had put...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend who talks nonstop. Honestly, I can put the phone down and go make a cup of tea, and she'll still be talking when I get back. I don't think she even takes a breath. I want to tell her she sometimes needs to ask questions or seek the opinions of others. How can I do this without hurting her feelings?

She has many good ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband is an outdoor enthusiast and has a group of guys he goes hunting with every year. One of them has started coming out west to vacation at our house twice a year and now has followed us to our warm-weather winter home.

When he stays at our place, we fix all the meals and he uses our washer, dryer and detergent for several ...Read more