ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I am writing about our 23-year-old daughter, who is having trouble with her digestive system.

After a year of vomiting after most meals and losing weight, she finally had a gastric emptying test. She was then diagnosed with dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying. This is usually a condition caused by bypass surgery, which is ...Read more

Dear Annie: Every December, my ex-mother-in-law organizes a holiday party for all of the women from her side of the family. It's a fancy dinner, and they have a $15 Secret Santa gift exchange.

As a rule, all attendees must be 16, and my daughter was thrilled that she was able to attend for the first time. She asked that I bring her to an ...Read more

Dear Annie: People who complain about giving gifts and not getting one in return should remember an old saying: If you are giving something and expecting something in return, then it is not giving; it is business. -- Good Ol' Saying

Dear Good Ol' Saying: May our readers find the pleasure in giving to others without expecting something in ...Read more

Dear Annie: Again, it is time to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. He would have been 91 on Jan. 15. Since his death in 1968, so much has changed ... and yet, so much has remained the same.

Sometimes, I wonder, if he were alive, what would King think about how things have gone in the African American community? What would he ...Read more

Dear Annie: About a year and a half ago, I met a woman whom I liked very much. She moved in with me after about six months. After living together some time, I've come to see that our relationship is impossible and I would like her to move out. The problem is that she has nowhere to go. She has one daughter, whom she was living with when I met ...Read more

Dear Annie: Our beloved family dog, Dasher, passed away last year. Dasher was a husky. She was the sweetest and best dog I ever could imagine. Good with the kids and our old kitty. When I contacted the breeder I bought her from, he said that he is no longer breeding. My friend suggested I look at adopting a dog from the local shelter or a rescue...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a problem with my friend "Julie" that I'm not sure how to handle. She's a really good friend in many ways. She's always there when I'm going through hard stuff. She's generous with food and gifts and other thoughtful gestures. For instance, last year, when she was watching my dog while I was out of town, she took him to the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 32-year-old married man with two children. I am trying to come to terms with my childhood. I grew up in a dysfunctional family, with an alcoholic father and a mother who had numerous affairs.

My elder brother, "Michael," was my world. He is only three years older than I am, but he practically raised me. He is the one who got ...Read more

ATTENTION DEAR ANNIE EDITORS: BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAY WEEK, ANNIE LANE IS OFF THIS WEEK. THE FOLLOWING COLUMN WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2018. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION -- CREATORS.COM

Thanks for the Junk

Dear Annie: I am in my 60s, as are my brothers and sisters, and we're all retired. We have always exchanged nice, thoughtful (though not ...Read more

Dear Annie: I read your column daily and always like your tough love and sensible advice. I'm interested in what your advice would be in the following situation. It involves gift giving at Christmas for nieces and nephews. My daughter does not feel that her brother gave as much to her sons as she did to his daughter and two stepchildren. She ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband, "Robert," and I moved back to our hometown several years ago to help with aging parents. I went back to work as a nurse, and he joined his father's law firm. Upon moving back, we struck up a friendship with an old acquaintance of Robert's. "Tim" and Robert went to high school together and a year of college.

We have ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a little chagrined to admit that we can't come up with a solution to this situation by ourselves, but we are really stumped. We have a friend who has stayed over with us twice. The first time, he brought two others with him, which worked out OK. The second time, he stayed for four days, ate everything in the fridge, as well as ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a 31-year-old son who has always struggled with mental illness issues. He was diagnosed with depression at age 15 and again in his early 20s when we sent him to a weeklong involuntary residential treatment. He will not stay on medication or go to counseling.

In the meantime, after years of not being able to keep a job, he ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for five years. We are in our early 30s and child-free. We talked about having children before we got married. At the time, we were both very much on the fence. We promised to keep checking in with each other and having honest conversations about kids. We've done that pretty regularly, and five ...Read more

Dear Annie: Since I was a little girl, I've always known I wanted to be a mother. Now, as a woman in her late 20s, and after four failed embryo transfers through IVF, that dream seems less and less a reality. My husband and I shared our news of infertility with his sister and her husband after they had spoken with us about their own inability ...Read more

Dear Annie. New Year's Day is approaching, and it's time for new resolutions. I'm ashamed to say that mine will be the same it is every year. My goal is to get into shape. Each year, I start with a few workouts but quickly fall back into my old lazy routine and let my diet slip. I've tried joining a gym, fitness classes, running and walking. ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for more than 50 years. We have had a great life together, sharing a lot of the same interests.

We had a great friendship with another couple. Several years ago, the husband caught my husband and his wife sexting each other. I do believe it was a one-time thing, as she was drinking and the ...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife is an alcoholic. I wrote the letter below to myself really. I was wondering if you would publish it, in hopes that it might help someone who is afflicted with alcoholism, or perhaps let a family member who is engulfed by it, know that they are not alone in their struggles:

I lost my wife and my best friend to alcoholism in...Read more

Dear Annie. My former boyfriend has a wife in the Philippines. He used to sometimes say, "Oh, stay with me, and we can keep sleeping together even when she moves to this country." Why would someone say something like that? I have a difficult time figuring out what he really meant. -- Perplexed Ex

Dear Perplexed: I have a harder time ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are in our mid-60s and have been married for 45 years. We had our children early in our marriage and made many sacrifices to make sure our daughter and son had all the benefits of a well-rounded childhood. Because this took up most of our discretionary income, rarely did my husband and I eat out, and we took very ...Read more