Life Advice
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Ask Anna: The threesome went great. So why do I feel so bad?
Dear Anna,
I’m an experienced threesome participant, but I’ve been happily monogamous for years. Recently, my wife and I decided to try having a threesome together because she never really got to have the fun, slutty 20s experience she wanted. (For context, this is a two women, one nonbinary person situation.) Because it was her first time,...Read more
Asking Eric: Atheist offended by others’ prayers
Dear Eric: I’m writing this to get your opinion about something that has been bothering me for a while but has been exacerbated by the recent illness of my mother.
Although I was brought up Catholic, in my adult life I am a practicing atheist. I’m not one to ever bring that up unless in a safe environment to do so, or if I know I am among ...Read more
Husband Gambles Away Down Payment On Sports
DEAR HARRIETTE: My husband and I have been saving for a house, but I figured out last week that he is addicted to sports betting and that a lot of our savings has been feeding his addiction. I was completely blindsided by this discovery; I genuinely had no idea how serious the situation had become. Over the past year, we had been talking ...Read more
'thank You' For Your 'help'
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live on a private lane of just five houses, each with large surrounding fields. After mowing my (perfectly dry) field, I went over to my neighbors' to perform a courtesy mow of theirs, as they both work full-time.
On the second turn, my full-size tractor sank deep into the mud, and any attempt at freeing it merely dug it in...Read more
Love at Full Volume
Dear Annie: My husband and I both work from home and each have our own offices. The problem is our walls are thin and his voice is LOUD. It travels through walls and doors and can even be heard by colleagues I'm speaking with when we both have meetings at the same time. It honestly sounds like he's screaming in there.
I've resorted to noise ...Read more
Single File(: Create Love
You sigh for it -- and sometimes your sighing deepens into outright yearning. You dream of discovering lover and best friend in one wonderful one. Your yearning is hidden from the daylight in a zillion ways, but in the dark of night, masks slip and your yearning for "the real thing" becomes your bedmate.
Listen up. Did it ever occur to you that...Read more
Ask Dating Coach Erika: What did they mean when they said that?
All too often, I get questions like these from clients:
--“What did they mean when they said that?”
--“How can I ask, ‘What are we?’”
--“Why didn’t they text me this morning like usual?”
--“Why don’t we have plans lined up for the weekend already?”
From my 15 years as a dating coach, I can give an educated guess as ...Read more
They've been happily married for nearly 20 years. They just live 3,000 miles apart
PHILADELPHIA -- Duwenavue Santé Johnson and Joseph Carrillo first met in San Francisco when they lived a block apart.
But that arrangement didn’t last. They have now been married for 17 years, and have lived 3,000 miles apart for the majority of the time.
Johnson lives in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood, where she works as a senior ...Read more
Asking Eric: Sister ghosts brother and mother over politics
Dear Eric: I’m 70, and my 68-year-old sister has ghosted me over politics. After the 2024 election she stopped responding to me – no birthday or Christmas cards, no phone calls, no emails.
She also did this in 2016 – ghosting my mother (82 at the time) and me for more than two years.
I finally wrote her a letter and told her that I loved...Read more
Daughter Cannot Manage To Finish Degree
DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter is struggling to complete college. She has been in her undergraduate program now for six years and she will need a seventh before she graduates. She is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in data science. I told her when I heard that this was her major and minor that it may be difficult to graduate on time...Read more
Long-Distance Friend's Spouse Always Chimes In
DEAR MISS MANNERS: A dear friend and I live several hours away from each other, so to keep in touch, we speak often on the telephone. He works part-time, so he usually calls me on his off days when his wife is home. This is the problem.
If she happens to be nearby when we are speaking, she will frequently interrupt to either ask him what we are...Read more
Missing the Sisterhood Beneath the Scorekeeping
Dear Annie: My sister and I grew up sharing everything: clothes, secrets, bedrooms, even blame when one of us broke something in the house. For most of my life, she was my first phone call and my safest place to land.
But in the last few years, something has changed. Every conversation with her has started to feel like a contest I never ...Read more
Disgraced Brother-In-Law Is Back In The Picture
DEAR ABBY: Four years ago, after our family gathering for Christmas, my brother-in-law sent me a message saying I looked "sexy" in my sweater. I replied, "thanks." A year later, at another family gathering, he sent me messages asking about my car, which led to sexual advances. I tried to avoid his advances by being nice and redirecting them to ...Read more
Asking Eric: Son’s family lives in squalor but won’t make any changes
Dear Eric: My son is in his 40s and has been a stay-at-home dad for 12 years. His wife, same age, has a demanding job and he is responsible for anything having to do with the house and their two middle school-aged girls. They all seem happy with this arrangement.
Both girls are high achievers, happy at school and their other activities, but the...Read more
Woman Can Help Boyfriend Understand Her Culture
DEAR HARRIETTE: I am an American-born Caribbean woman currently dating an African American man. As we begin to get more serious, I want to introduce him to my family soon. I was raised in an open family that was not xenophobic or exclusionary, so I'm not as worried about him being accepted as I am with him understanding our culture. There are a ...Read more
Restaurant Celebrations Becoming Unaffordable
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I acknowledge that a person should not be hosting their own birthday parties. However, if I had to wait until I could afford to take everyone out to dinner to invite them out for a good time, we'd never go.
Dining out has become outrageously expensive. I rarely go with even just my family. Expecting one person to pay for ...Read more
Teen's Cold Shoulder Leaves Mom Feeling Shut Out
Dear Annie: My 15-year-old daughter and I used to be extremely close. She was the kind of child who would climb into the car after school and tell me everything before I even pulled out of the parking lot: who sat with whom at lunch, what her teacher said, which friend was mad at which friend and what song everyone was listening to that week. ...Read more
Asking Eric: Mother doesn’t want son at family funeral because of his drinking
Dear Eric: My father recently passed after a long battle with dementia. My 45-year-old son who was close to my father is an alcoholic. He was sober for almost two years and then relapsed a few weeks ago after learning my father was close to death.
He has mental health issues as well as abusing alcohol and has been in and out of rehab and sober ...Read more
Summer Job Applicant Ghosted By Employer
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Back in February, I inquired about a job opening for the summer. I was invited to have an interview with my potential employer, whereupon we had a great conversation and he expressed interest in hiring me.
However, his season began before I was finished with college. He suggested that I keep in touch and that he would get ...Read more
Honoring Sacrifice Beyond the Long Weekend
Dear Readers: Memorial Day arrives each year wrapped in red, white and blue, but at its heart, it is a day of quiet gratitude.
It is the unofficial beginning of summer, yes. There will be hamburgers on grills, children running barefoot through backyards, flags waving from porches and maybe a little potato salad that sat out longer than anyone...Read more
Inside Life Advice
Popular Stories
- Ask Anna: The threesome went great. So why do I feel so bad?
- They've been happily married for nearly 20 years. They just live 3,000 miles apart
- Ask Dating Coach Erika: What did they mean when they said that?
- Ask Dating Coach Erika: Is it wrong to want a partner with the same education?
- Jill Burcum: Building a sisterhood of the saddle






















