DEAR ABBY: My stepdaughter has an 11-year-old daughter I’ll call “Kristina.” Kristina is very well-behaved, but she’s being taught at home that love is measured in dollars. She is constantly hinting about gifts and candy she wants. It has gotten so bad that when I keep her, I postpone errands because she invariably finds something […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have a friend, “Sophie,” who is cheating on her husband of 25 years. Of course, this is not our business. But now, unbeknownst to her husband, she has incorporated her lover into their everyday life. Her lover is from India and is also married. Sophie is now obsessed with […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are contemplating moving across the country to be near our daughters. We have lived in our home for 45 years. We are both active and in very good health, but unlike many of our friends, we have no relatives anywhere near us. We have friends and neighbors who are […]

DEAR ABBY: For a long time, I thought I was unable to have children. My doctors told me it would be a difficult process and my chances were low due to chronic illnesses I live with. I have accepted this fact, because having a family was the reason I divorced in my late 20s. My […]

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to “George” for 35 years. I was pregnant when I married. We had dated only five months. We came from families that believed you had to “do the right thing” and get married. I love my husband, but never as deeply as I thought I should. I had feelings […]

DEAR ABBY: My older brother has had a tumultuous marriage to a manipulative, alcoholic, just-plain-mean woman. It has been bad over their entire 40-year marriage, including her physically assaulting him. He called the police the last time and had them take her away. She eventually kicked him out, and he went to stay at our […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband’s family won’t stop asking me when I’m going to quit my job and work for my husband. My mother-in-law worked for my father-in-law at their small business for pretty much her whole career. My husband recently bought his dad’s business, which is going really well. I have been ambitious in my […]

DEAR ABBY: I am fortunate to have a great relationship with my in-laws. We live half a continent apart, so although we video chat often, we get to see them in person only two or three times a year. They are recent retirees, and we are planning to relocate together to a new location that […]

DEAR ABBY: I have been friends for 20 years with a kind and caring woman, “Brenda.” We always shared life moments, until recently. I thought of her children as my own. Her son got married (not in a formal or traditional wedding) and didn’t want anyone there except his parents, siblings and a few friends. […]

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to a wonderful man for 17 years. Recently, I reconnected online with an old high school flame. We have been talking about my hometown, which is where he lives. So many things have changed! I moved away more than 30 years ago and have been missing it lately. While […]