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Dear Annie: I have a family estrangement issue. It all started when a 44-year-old woman contacted my older brother on a DNA site. I immediately wrote her and acknowledged paternity and expressed a strong desire to establish a long-term relationship. She seems to be a very nice person.

She told me she wasn't ready yet to meet me; over the next...Read more

Dear Annie: How much is one person supposed to take? My mother-in-law has no filter and will say anything she wants at any time, just to insult.

I have been married to "Frank" for more than 30 years, and the whole time my mother-in-law says the most insulting things, and Frank wouldn't dream of telling her to stop.

Years ago, it was about ...Read more

Dear Annie: I just wanted to let you know that I read your column for the first time today and think you gave excellent advice. You are much better than some of the other advice columns that lack empathy or understanding. Good job, and keep it up. People need to get advice from those who help them be better people and not validate their worst ...Read more

Dear Annie: Let me start off by saying I got married at 19 and divorced at 24. My ex-husband and I had three kids during this time, two females and one male. I got remarried at 26 and had a son. My second husband already had three girls from previous relationships. One of his girls I have never met because her mom moved to Texas, however, his ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am the adult child of divorced parents who divorced 25-plus years ago and both remarried 20 years ago. I have three siblings and three stepsiblings. My mom and her husband are retired, very comfortable moneywise and own several investment properties and "toys." My dad and stepmom are semiretired and do OK, but are probably a ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband of 34 years has become increasingly disappointed in our 30-year-old son. He and my son have had a rocky relationship, as my husband sees the world through opportunity and is always working toward improvement (which makes him a great engineer), but this also means he has expectations that rarely get met by the people in ...Read more

Dear Annie: Do you think my husband loves me? He yells at me, and in his sleep, he yells obscenities, but he says it isn't about me. He never wants to talk or anything. He just wants me at home. He is upstairs, and I'm downstairs. If I ask a question, I'm stupid. Never a nice compliment or "I love you." Am I wrong for staying in this ...Read more

Dear Readers: My comments critical of people using diabetes drugs for casual weight loss generated a storm of protest from clinically obese readers who had found a solution to their lifetime struggle with weight loss. But their letters touched on the subject I was most concerned about, which is that diabetics were suddenly unable to find the ...Read more

Dear Annie: The doctor I have gone to for years recently took a five-month medical leave of absence. His office would not tell me anything, which I understand. I had been extremely distraught not knowing if he was all right. There was even gossip that he had passed away.

Turned out he had pneumonia. He once told me that if I ever moved out of...Read more

Dear Annie: I just read today's "Second Chance Daughter" column about "putting away the bitterness, regret and anger of growing up with an abusive mom." Her dad wasn't much better; he deliberately never stepped forward to intervene on his daughter's behalf.

My sister, brother and I never went to our father and told him about what was going on...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a recently divorced man in his mid-60s. I have no children and am secure in my job. I've been on a couple of dates since my divorce that haven't gone well.

One day, I ran into one of the nurses I met while I was in rehab after my stroke in 2016. We became friends and shared intimate details about our private lives with each ...Read more

Dear Readers: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today, March 17, we remember and honor St. Patrick, the patron saint believed to have popularized Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century.

In the spirit of the occasion, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite quotes about luck from Roald Dahl: "We are all a great deal luckier than we ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am writing because I don't know how I ended up so unhappy. Part of me is angry for letting this go on for decades, while other parts of me keep hoping my husband will see what he has -- an amazing family! I have been married for over 30 years and have four beautiful and amazing kids. I was so blessed to grow up in a wonderful ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married to my husband for 50 years. During that time, I have been close to my husband's family. Over the years, the family has grown, and our get-togethers have been less frequent. I've had a friendship with my husband's brother's wife, my sister-in-law, who occasionally has a gathering in which she has included her own...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for 30 years. For the vast majority of those years, his jobs have involved a significant amount of travel, anywhere from 25 to 60% of his work days, depending on the job he has held. Sometimes he would be away for weeks at a time. Additionally, his workday when he was not traveling usually brought...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband is constantly on his phone, scrolling through social media, playing video games or chatting with friends. I feel like I'm always competing for his attention, and it's driving me nuts.

I have complained many times, and he promises to pay more attention to me, but his addiction to his smartphone takes priority every time....Read more

Dear Annie: Your reply to the couple who lost their newborn daughter on Valentine's Day, reprinted from your 2019 column, struck a chord.

While they have been blessed with another baby, it in no way diminishes the loss of their firstborn. I have not known the grief of losing a child and am therefore unqualified to claim that I understand it. ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm 63 and number eight of a Catholic family of 10. Only one sibling remains Catholic; most of us went to other churches and are now Christian. During my childhood, I seemed to be the one to get it bad in terms of punishment.

One day, I told my mom the neighbor kid had spit in my hair. Rather than being sympathetic, my mom cut off...Read more

Dear Annie: My parents divorced over 20 years ago, and each of them subsequently remarried wonderful people that my sister and I have been so fortunate to have in our lives. Sadly, my loving stepfather passed away last month after a brave battle through a lengthy illness.

Although my parents did not maintain a relationship post-divorce, and ...Read more

Dear Annie: I just want to start by saying I love my mother-in-law. She has helped me with the kids more often than not, and I am extremely grateful for her. My issue is when it comes time to tell my toddler "no," my mother-in-law just laughs, which makes my toddler laugh and encourages her to keep doing whatever it is we told her to not do (...Read more