ArcaMax

Dear Amy: My mother recently died, and I’m expecting a relatively substantial inheritance from her (my dad died several years ago).

My younger brother, also not living, has two adult children.

My mother (who was a difficult person) originally told me she intended to halve the inheritance between my brother and me when he was still alive, but...Read more

Dear Amy: I am a single woman in my mid-50s. I never married or had children and like it this way.

I enjoy people, but am a classic introvert who recuperates her energy by being alone.

I enjoy going to museums and restaurants on my own. There is a restaurant/bar right down the street from me that I enjoy going to.

Recently, I went to this ...Read more

Dear Amy: My husband and I, along with a lot of other people our age, have not been able to recover from the pandemic. We are both active 75-year-olds and have been married 55 years.

It seems like everyone’s forgotten that most people over 65 are retired and have no young children. They don’t have jobs and colleagues to return to. They don�...Read more

Dear Amy: After a very difficult divorce and a few years single, I married a wonderful partner last year. He brought his 20-year-old son into the marriage.

Since arriving at my home, the son’s prospects have devolved. He quit college. He lost his job. He now sits in his room all day. When he runs out of funds for nicotine or marijuana, he ...Read more

Burnout. We’ve all experienced it, whether at work, from school, over family obligations, or even due to a too-packed social schedule. We can also apply it to relationships — because it’s actually completely normal. Sometimes it stems from being overwhelmed (so many apps, so little time), and other times you find yourself feeling like you�...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a bisexual woman currently in my first significant relationship with another bisexual woman. Throughout my life, I’ve always identified as bi, but my past romantic involvements were primarily with straight men. I've been married twice and have three daughters. Despite my attraction to women, I’ve never dated one until now. ...Read more

Dear Amy: Several years back, my sister was in a pretty bad place. She was in her early 30s, still living at home, and didn’t have viable career plans. She desperately wanted to get married and have children, and none of this was working out for her, as she had very little self-confidence.

My mother works for my uncle. She has been quite ...Read more

Dear Amy: My father died 20 years ago after a long battle with alcoholism. At the time, he was separated from my mother and estranged from my younger brother.

I chose to maintain a relationship with him through the last months of his life when he was suffering from liver failure, and I forgave him for the pain he had caused our family.

My ...Read more

Dear Amy: In 1964, I met my wife “Laura” and her infant baby “Beth.” (Laura had gotten pregnant with a married man.)

Laura and I were married, and I adopted Beth when she was 1 year old.

We raised Beth as my biological daughter and never heard a word from her actual biological father. We told Beth about her adoption when she was 8. Her...Read more

Dear Amy: My son “Jack” is 26 years old. Five years ago, he came out to me as gay. While this didn’t fully surprise me, it saddened me. I wanted Jack to have a traditional life. I wanted to have grandchildren.

Despite these feelings, I told him I accepted him.

Jack has lived on his own for the past several years. Recently he told me that...Read more

Dear Amy: I have been walking buddies with a neighbor for the last 12 years. We walk together about once a week.

While I usually enjoy our time, there have been unsettling emotional outbursts from her, either crying or screaming about one thing or another.

She has even yelled at me personally, which was shocking and embarrassing to me, and I ...Read more

Dear Amy: I’m a 57-year-old man.

I was recently diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer.

I am obviously not overjoyed, but I am totally accepting of this news. Living with – not dying of – cancer means a few lifestyle changes and the need to be more aware of things.

My cancer is not curable, but it is treatable; similar to many other ...Read more

Last fall I met a guy.

He had a thick mustache and was, by my estimate, at least 10 years my junior. We happened to sit next to each other at a dinner event at my social club. I'd recently watched "Wild Wild Country," a documentary series on a religious cult, and it was all I wanted to talk about. It turned out that he loved documentaries on ...Read more

Dear Anna,

My primary partner, who I’ll call Alex, and I have been in a loving, committed relationship for five years, and for three of those years, we've been in a closed triad with Sam. Our relationship with Sam grew organically and became a significant part of our lives, deeply intertwining with our daily routines and social circles.

...Read more

Dear Amy: A little over a year ago, working with my mother’s doctor, I decided it was in her best interests (she has dementia) to move into assisted living.

With help from my spouse, I was able to maintain her unoccupied house for about a year.

We have other elderly relatives in the neighborhood who kept us posted if anything required ...Read more

When there’s a new couple around, it’s natural to ask, “So, how did you meet?” Most of the time, it’s one of these answers: through friends, at work, or on a dating app. Gone are the days when connecting through Tinder or Bumble came with an elaborate lie about a meet-cute that stemmed from sitting together on a plane … it’s so ...Read more

As a parent, you’ve likely experienced the frustration and embarrassment of calling your child by their sibling’s or your pet’s name. You’re not alone, and you’re not losing your mind. In fact, a recent TikTok video has brought a 2016 Duke University study back into the spotlight, revealing this phenomenon is extremely common.

The ...Read more