DEAR ABBY: My two children were in a terrible car accident and were both airlifted to a children’s hospital. My son was released two weeks later, but my daughter is still there, suffering from traumatic brain injury. Abby, I was driving the car. Why can’t my daughter have the life I took away from her? […]

DEAR ABBY: My ex-husband likes to call to ask me for advice. Our most recent conversation was in regard to his girlfriend and her sexual past, which he knew about before they started dating. He now disapproves of her history and he began calling her unpleasant names. He tells me he deserves better but intends […]

DEAR ABBY: My youngest daughter, “Lizzy,” the sweetest and most conscientious of my children, has been cut off yet again by her mother, “Ruth.” Ruth pressured Lizzy to graduate from high school a year early because she couldn’t date with a child still at home. (Her words.) After graduation, Lizzy was shipped off to another […]

DEAR ABBY: I’m a 43-year-old veteran of the grocery industry. I am also an associate of one of the premier supermarkets in the country, and I disagree with your response to “Chicago Clipper” (Feb. 18)! Coupons are a necessary evil and are graciously accepted, but they create an abundance of work for retailers. It takes […]

DEAR ABBY: My friend “Veronica” is obsessed with food — not just eating it, but also talking about it, looking at it and watching me eat. She frequently asks me what I’m eating, especially if it’s something I have made. I can’t open a container of yogurt without her asking what flavor it is. On […]

DEAR ABBY: I’m confused about the protocol in thanking or repaying someone after staying several nights at their home. My feeling is, if you’re staying with people, the nicest way to thank them for their hospitality is to pay for most, if not all, the lunches and dinners you share with them when you dine […]

DEAR ABBY: I am a 16-year-old girl and I want to become famous. My mom says that’s not a real job. I was in magazines when I was little, but now that I’m older, I want to be a singer or actress. What should I do? — HEADING FOR FAME IN OHIO DEAR HEADING: Listen […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 16 years and have two teenagers. “Mom” died two years ago, and my husband is an only child. How can we tell my widowed father-in-law that we need a weekend to ourselves? ”Pop,” who’s 87, lives an hour away and drives to see us every […]

DEAR ABBY: I’d like to respond to the letter from “Hurting in Virginia Beach, Va.” (Feb. 6), who complained that the smell of mint chewing gum triggers her migraines. Many gum chewers, like me, have good reasons for doing it. I chew gum on planes because it helps reduce sinus pressure, thus preventing my own […]

DEAR ABBY: What’s the best thing to do when someone insults me for being myself? My hair has been bright blue for the last two semesters of college. I like it. I’m young, and my family is letting me express my “wild” side while I’m in school. Six months ago I went to meet my […]