ArcaMax

Dear Eric: My 35-year-old niece married a 45-year-old man with two teenage kids in a small ceremony. I have always been close with her. My sister and my niece have had a somewhat up-and-down relationship. They are each strong-willed.

But over the past 18 months since my niece met her now-husband, she has pretty much turned her back on her ...Read more

Dear Eric: My cat died in 2013. Everyone said I treated him like a child. He got so sick, so suddenly, it freaked me out so badly.

Then my dad died out of nowhere in 2018. I wanted to die to be with him, because he was my best friend.

Now I'm afraid I'll lose anyone at any time. I have OCD and all my rituals are focused around keeping my mom, ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been in recovery for alcohol addiction for almost 31 years. Needless to say, my life is wonderful and so good compared to those years when I was active in my addiction.

Recently I was with someone who knew me before recovery. In a room with people who really didn't know me very well, she told the story about how I was drunk, ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am in a leadership role at my church. Our community is very loving. We have a relatively new member who is a dear older woman. We think she may be dealing with a bit of dementia.

he is very grateful for our community and wants to be involved.

The problem is she signs up to do many of the tasks needed for Sundays and for other ...Read more

Dear Eric: Should I tell a coworker that many of her workmates are criticizing her as selfish and self-centered? She got married a year ago but didn't go on a honeymoon then because the couple, who are both in their 40s, had just returned from two weeks in Europe.

Now they've decided they want a "dream honeymoon" at a luxury resort. To pay for ...Read more

Dear Eric: My sister has a 130-pound dog who is friendly. While celebrating Easter in April, I was sitting on the sofa, barefoot, when the dog approached me and stepped on my right foot and injured it. After five months, I visited the doctor who said that all my nerves in my foot were damaged. He gave me metatarsal pads to wear and cream to see ...Read more

Dear Eric: My brother died of Covid four years ago. When we flew to the memorial service, his wife's sibling slipped us the box of ashes. She said my brother's wife was too distraught to deal with it. We were so shocked we just put them in our trunk.

Those ashes came back with us on the flight and have been sitting on our porch in a bookshelf ...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband and I have been married for 40 years. He has two adult sons in their 60s and I have an adult daughter in her 50s. Over the years we have helped one son, who has two children and my daughter, who has one child, while they were going through divorces with large sums of money in order for them to keep their houses. We have ...Read more

Dear Eric: I’m in my 60s and have a crippling disease that kept me housebound for nearly five years. My daughter moved back home around that time after her sister took her life and left behind a young son, whom we have been raising together.

A new medication for this disease was recently approved. I’ve been taking it for two years, and it ...Read more

Dear Eric: Several years ago, I moved to the U.S. from Europe to marry my wife. Her father agreed to support us financially until my work authorization was approved. Around the time of the approval my wife suffered a severe mental health crisis and needed time to recover.

My father-in-law hired a "life coach" and my wife and I worked with her ...Read more

Dear Eric: My 37-year-old daughter, along with her 10-year-old son, live with my wife and me. My daughter shares custody with my grandson’s father.

My daughter is two years sober, which is great. She works most days in an outdoor profession but has many days off due to weather.

When she’s not working, she’s sitting in her room on her ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a mid-60s married woman. I have been in a deep friendship for a couple of years with a married male colleague in his 30s. Neither of us is each other’s supervisor.

There is no romantic connection, but we are very much best friends, and we adore each other. We share much in common, such as interests outside work.

We text each ...Read more

Dear Eric: My daughter is in a committed relationship with a partner. My daughter insists that she will never get married. They bought a house and have a child together. We live nearby and see them often, providing backup childcare as needed. They both have good jobs.

Their money is separate. They pay for things separately and have elected to ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am the mother of a wild child. The other day, she ran into our house and asked for a Band-Aid because her friend scraped his knee. The boy had what I would describe as "the most gnarly gash" I've seen since I left the military.

The cut missed major blood vessels, but at least partially severed a tendon. We sent a messenger to his ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a tween age daughter (11) who used to be very sweet. Lately she has been very mouthy – always answers back and is rude, especially to me. I don’t know why she has changed so much. She has a younger brother and says I treat him better. I try to treat them the same. Any advice on how to handle this situation as I feel it�...Read more

Dear Eric: I'm a 64-year-old male and I have a 59-year-old girlfriend of a couple years. My perception is that my girlfriend is constantly seeking attention from other men. For instance, we were out on an ATV ride with another couple and a third man. Our ride brought us through many miles of back country. We stopped at a bar/restaurant to use ...Read more

Dear Eric: When my brother passed away many years ago, my sister-in-law kept the family photo album that belonged to him.

The family photos in my sister-in-law’s possession include many from my childhood and our larger family, as well as a few of her husband, my brother. I understand that these albums hold great sentimental value for her, and...Read more

Dear Eric: I'm not happy where we live and want to move to be closer to my family. My parents are in good health now, but I’m concerned I don’t have much time left with them. However, I know if I tell my husband my feelings in wanting to move it will devastate him because this is the first time in my husband's life that he's actually enjoyed...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a wonderful relationship with both of my adult children. My son is married with a family. My daughter is divorced with a teenage son, and I'm very concerned about her. She has had no luck dating because, I feel, she is attracted to the wrong kind of man (players).

She finally met a man of suitable age who, at first, seemed to...Read more

Dear Eric: After a lifetime of making bad choices in a husband and later boyfriends, I gladly embraced the single life and have been fully content and even joyful.

A few months ago, at age 70, I attended a dear friend’s memorial service. As I started to leave, I had a flash of connection as my eyes met those of my friend’s now-widower who I...Read more