Life Advice
/Health
/ArcaMax

Asking Eric: Daughter wants to stay connected to mother, but stay far away from father
Dear Eric: I’m a grown woman in a healthy relationship with two children of my own, and I can’t stand being around my dad. I’m resentful of him for a childhood full of emotional abuse that I feel has stunted my personal development. I’m working hard to get through that and reach my fullest potential, but I still really can’t stand ...Read more
Grandmothers Make Toddler's Birthday About Them
DEAR HARRIETTE: I threw my 2-year-old daughter a birthday party last week and invited my husband's family and my family. I was so excited to have everyone together to celebrate, but the day quickly turned stressful when our mothers got into a heated argument. It started as a few passive-aggressive comments, but it escalated when my mother-in-law...Read more
Mourning By Another Name
DEAR MISS MANNERS: We are holding a celebration of life for my 28-year-old son at an airplane hangar. I'm saying "Wear anything!" because we want it to be about celebrating his life more than mourning his death. I plan to wear white.
Do you make a distinction between funerals and celebrations of life, or do you believe mourning prevails ...Read more
Helping Your Husband Be a Better Gift-Giver
Dear Annie: First, I just want to say how much I appreciate your columns! I always enjoy your insights.
Recently, my newspaper ran the column with a letter from "Feeling Undervalued," the woman who was frustrated that her husband didn't buy her small gifts for occasions like Valentine's Day. I thought your advice was great, but I wanted to ...Read more
Woman Hopes To Convince Ex-Boyfriend She's 'the One'
DEAR ABBY: I'm 29, and my boyfriend is 36. We met on a dating site and were together for three years. He broke up with me two months ago because he didn't think he could marry me. (We weren't engaged.) He says I'm the love of his life, soulmate and his dream come true, and I feel the same, but he has commitment issues.
When I met him, I was in ...Read more
Milleniel Life: Turns Out Scraping By Is Not the Goal
For millennials and Gen Z, life is mediocre. Whatever we label the drive for overachievement -- the hustle, the grind, or paying your dues -- we've found that it doesn't necessarily lead to success. Especially if we've redefined what that looks like for us.
It's not just about money. Working 40, 50, or even 60 hours a week with one or two jobs ...Read more

Asking Eric: Cousin’s erratic behavior is troubling to family
Dear Eric: My cousin (more like a sister) has been making some extremely rash and concerning choices over the last year. After she had her second baby, she left her husband and started seeing a series of borderline-abusive men. She is now in the process of signing over full custody of her children to her ex-husband and is impulsively buying a ...Read more
Dealing With a Difficult Sister-in-Law
Dear Annie: I'm a divorced woman in my late 40s with a child in college, and for the past 2 1/2 years, I've been in a wonderful, loving relationship with a man I'll call "Matt." He and his sister, "Martha," are extremely close -- so close they call themselves "Irish twins." Since she lives far away, I've only met her a couple of times, but let...Read more
Lunches With Negative Nelly Leave Colleague Cold
DEAR ABBY: I recently reconnected with a colleague from work. We were friendly, but not really what I would call friends. We reconnected on social media and have had lunch a few times. The problem is, she has become a very negative, aggressive, angry person. She spends our time bashing family, former colleagues and just about every service ...Read more

Asking Eric: Wife won’t tell her brother about father’s abuse
Dear Eric: Soon after we had our first child, my wife uncovered a repressed memory that she had been sexually abused by her father when she was 18 years old.
I’ve always encouraged her to share this burden with her brother, but she is flatly against it. While I understand that, I’ve been reading up on how that trauma affects women later in ...Read more
Mom Wants To Help Daughter With Autism Make Friends
DEAR HARRIETTE: I am the mother of a wonderful, bright and kindhearted 10-year-old daughter who is autistic. She is creative and has a deep passion for animals and art, but she struggles with social interactions. Making friends has never been easy for her, and now that she's in a new school, it seems even harder. She tells me often that other ...Read more
Whoever Finds The Bandage Wins A Prize!
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I had a severe injury to a finger. It has since healed, but when I cook, I usually keep a bandage over the injury to protect the area.
One night I made dinner for my husband and a very close friend (who has a great sense of humor). I had the entrees placed on the table and was serving the salads when I noticed the bandage was...Read more
Big Kids Aren't Babysitters
Dear Annie: My family lives in a close-knit neighborhood. I'm good friends with two women in particular, "Leslie" and "Tara." Leslie's daughter "Ashley" and my son "Ben," both in sixth grade, have been best friends since first grade. They love to play outside together on nice days. Our friend Tara's son, "Lyle," is in kindergarten and also ...Read more
Friend's Paranoid Behavior Raises Alarm
DEAR ABBY: How do I tell my friend I feel she needs a mental health evaluation? She has been my closest friend for 20 years, and we have been through many trials together. She has been married for a couple of years to a man who seems very nice.
Abby, she is convinced that she's being followed, but doesn't know by whom or why. She tells me about...Read more

Asking Eric: Neighbor accuses couple of lying to the government
Dear Eric: I live in a very rural and rather remote area where you can count "neighbors" on one hand. My husband and I made friends with one who lives about five miles away; we're not "close" but she and I share a lot of common interests, have shared meals, house and pet sitting, etc.
Recently I texted her and told her we were applying for a ...Read more
Sibling Worried Sister Has Wrong College Priorities
DEAR HARRIETTE: My youngest sister is in the process of applying and being accepted to colleges -- for the second time. She's had some trouble in the past in terms of staying focused and prioritizing her degree and her education, and now as she's applying to get back into college, she's constantly consulting her friends. I won't pass judgment on...Read more
There's Second-Guessing, And Then There's Whatever This Is
DEAR MISS MANNERS: While outside in the smoking area of a music venue a couple weeks ago, a woman next to me became a little too animated and lightly bumped into me. She apologized, and I politely responded that it was not a problem.
Then, I realized she was still looking at my sleeve with an anxious, guilty expression, and she started brushing...Read more
When Marriage Feels Like Surveillance
Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for over 20 years. Recently, he has become increasingly controlling, checking all my movements and whereabouts, even while we are both at home. He checks if I am asleep by pretending to be putting something on the bedside table when he could just ask if I am asleep, for instance.
This has caused ...Read more
Husband Abandons Wife At Single Table By The Restroom
DEAR ABBY: My husband puts everyone first before me.
An example: We were invited to his aunt Diana's 50th wedding anniversary. His father was their best man but couldn't make it due to illness. So, at the last minute, my husband was asked to sit at the head table with his aunt and her husband. I was not invited to do that, and my husband didn't...Read more

Asking Eric: Brother leaves house a mess after visit, but sister fears upsetting him
Dear Eric: My brother and I were estranged for many years at his insistence. We were able to reconcile after our father’s death when I gave him a larger portion of the estate than my father had willed to him.
My brother has some health issues which he picks and chooses to take the advice of his doctors. During Covid he became sick and had to ...Read more
Inside Life Advice
Popular Stories
- Ask Anna: Exploring open fantasies -- how to handle regret and uncertainty
- Apply the burnt toast theory to online dating -- it may save your sanity
- Ask Anna: Hooked on your ex's Spotify? How to let go for good
- Ask Anna: My coworker-turned-boyfriend won't let me break up with him
- Dating then vs. now: Better, worse or just different?