DEAR ABBY: I have lived in the United States for 40 years. My first 32 years were spent in Puerto Rico, so I speak with an accent. My problem is almost everyone I meet asks me where I’m from. I usually try to disguise my discomfort by jokingly asking them to guess. The truth is, […]

DEAR ABBY: I’m 18 and live with my boyfriend, “Austin,” at his parents’ house because, frankly, my mom is too much for me to handle. I graduated from high school with no plan for anything afterward. I was going to follow Austin to the school of his choice, but then he changed his mind about […]

DEAR ABBY: There are no words to express how disappointed I am at the education kids receive now and still graduate with “honors.” I was at the grocery store a short time ago. Two young ladies working there just completed their freshman year at the local college. One of them had been on the honor […]

DEAR ABBY: Your advice to “Poor Birth Mother in Georgia” on June 12 — “Because the college loan agreement with your daughter was verbal and wasn’t put in writing, you don’t have a legal means to force her to assume the loan payments” — was wrong! Verbal agreements are enforced if they can be proven […]

DEAR ABBY: I am a 24-year-old woman and currently live with my boyfriend. We have a child. Before we started living together, we discussed having an open relationship. We realized how messy it can be, so we agreed on having a “free pass” with ONE person, ONE time. I have met that person; it is […]

DEAR ABBY: I have a very close cousin (and friend) who is in a toxic relationship with a man who breaks up with her repeatedly, manipulates and abuses her emotionally, and probably cheats. It has made me sad to see her go through the same pattern with him for so many years. They were supposed […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband, “Jeff,” and I are fostering a 17-year-old girl we plan to adopt. Jeff’s mother grew up in foster care, and after learning about her life and hardship, I felt we should help out in this way. I am a stay-at-home mother with three other children (6, 8 and 14), and we […]

DEAR ABBY: I’m 16, go to high school, play football and make good grades. At church every Sunday, a lady who is one of my mom’s friends always makes a point of coming up to me to talk. She says things about me growing up to be a man, and asks me if I’m dating. […]

DEAR ABBY: Today was my high school reunion. I was the most notable student for all the wrong reasons. I was born with some birth defects and learning disabilities. I overcame them, but it was hard. While working blue-collar jobs, I lived in my car for a few years. On a cold winter night several […]