ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I have been friends with "Jasmine" for over 50 years. Jasmine has trouble dealing with loss, often grieving for decades. Last year, she lost her dog. She sits and cries every night. I understand that loss is harder for some than others, but Jasmine is so angry. She has cut off contact with long-time friends for saying things like, ...Read more

Dear Annie: Almost 15 years ago, my older sister removed me from her life after a series of messy arguments. At the time, she just stopped taking my calls and waited for me to leave family functions before going. She told our three siblings and mother that she didn't want me in her life. She likely gave them reasons but never allowed anyone to...Read more

Dear Annie: Regarding the recent letters about Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery programs, whatever works best for you is what you should do. With 8 billion people on the face of this earth, and 1 in 10 an alcoholic, we need all the help we can get. The fellowship of AA and the 12 steps worked for me. I drank alcoholically for 45 years ...Read more

Dear Annie: I feel for the woman who is being ignored or criticized by her husband constantly and who wants out of the marriage. I'm in almost the exact same situation, with an unloving husband who begs not to get a divorce. I wanted to offer some suggestions for resources she can use.

She should go to the local women's shelter. They will ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm at a stage in my life where personal growth has taken hold in the absence of my husband. My husband is still here and alive, but he frequently travels for work, and I am often left to my own devices for days at a time as a stay-at-home mom of two young boys. I've taken to calling these days "idle time," as if the engine of our ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I love each other very much, but we have grown apart for a while now. I've done my best to be a good and loving wife, yet it seems to be hard for him to give me physical affection. He says he loves me and doesn't want to be without me, yet we physically seem to be 1,000 miles away.

I try to be affectionate, but it ...Read more

Dear Annie: This letter describes my life experiences with bullies and how I managed to succeed. I was a scrawny, pimple-faced little kid growing up, had a weak voice, got fists shaken in my face while being held to the ground several times, was held underwater in swimming class and nearly drowned, was mocked for not having a girlfriend until ...Read more

Dear Annie: In 2010, I discovered that my husband of 47 years had been in touch with a woman who he had a long and intimate relationship with before we met. She had a child three months before we met and wanted him to marry her but he refused because he had learned that she was also intimate with someone else at the same time.

When I ...Read more

Dear Readers: A number of you wrote to me in response to "Still Recovering," the woman who was not yet over her husband's affair from seven years earlier. You offered a range of different perspectives gained from personal experiences with infidelity. Below are two good examples that may be of use to "Still Recovering" and to any reader who is ...Read more

Dear Readers: Many readers expressed opinions -- and offered tips for coping -- on the subject of allergies when visiting friends and family during the holidays, or just visiting friends in general. Thank you for many wonderful suggestions to help others who suffer from similar allergies. Here is a sampling:

Dear Annie: I read your column all...Read more

Dear Readers: As we prepare for another holiday season, all kinds of emotions and feelings rise to the surface for all of us -- some of joy and excitement and some of disappointment or sadness. This is one of my favorite poems when it comes to feelings. I hope you enjoy it.

"The Guest House" by Rumi

"This being human is a guest house.

Every...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married for almost 20 years. My husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about a year ago, but I suspect that's what was going on with him for many years prior to the official diagnosis. He is also an alcoholic.

Our marriage has deteriorated due to not only the effect his illness has on his personality and behavior ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am looking forward to the holiday season this year, just as I have in years past, and I wanted to share my thoughts about this. Being an octogenarian, born in 1940, I see things more clearly as I enter the twilight of my life.

Talk about change and understanding, what a way to begin the fall and winter seasons of my life, both ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mom's husband molested my sister more than 25 years ago. I was a teenager at the time, and because I lived with my dad, I didn't know all that went on. I do know that the case went to court, thanks to my dad, who always stuck out his neck for us. (I'm glad I wasn't living with my mom, because who knows what would have happened ...Read more

Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I are in love, and we've been together for five years and have lived together for the past three years. He moved in with me after his divorce. Now, from that divorce, his credit was horrible. So, since living together, I pay all of the household bills and occasionally help him with his bills because he is "trying ...Read more

Dear Readers: Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and joyous Thanksgiving. As we gather around the table, it is a good time to reflect on all the things that we can be thankful for. It is a time to appreciate what you have and treasure the very moments that you are spending with friends or family. Below are some of my favorite poems about ...Read more

Dear Readers: As we prepare our tables and tummies for tomorrow's Thanksgiving celebration, I find myself reflecting on the countless things I am grateful for. From good health to loving friends and family to our wonderful community of readers and letter writers, there are so many things, big and small, to appreciate.

Here are some of my ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for a couple of years; we each have children from previous relationships and no children together. Individually, we both make good incomes. He is in real estate, and I am a software programmer.

Before getting married, I (alone) purchased the home we currently reside in. I invested a large amount ...Read more

Dear Annie: With reference to a recent column in which the reader said she had lost her home to a reverse mortgage, there are two primary ways this can happen, and I want to explain how to avoid this so that it never happens to any other reader.

In a reverse mortgage, the money paid by the lender to the homeowner in reverse does NOT include ...Read more

Dear Annie: Back in the '90s, before cellphones, I discovered that my husband was having an affair with the manager of a store he owned. It had been going on for seven years, and everyone knew about it, including their mothers and all the employees -- everyone but me.

I did have my suspicions, though. He'd come home late from work, and I ...Read more