Dear Eric: I am really struggling with anger and heartbreak and need a little help. A year ago, my husband took his own life. Four days before he passed, he told me that he had been having an affair with another man.
Dear Eric: When we were growing up, Greg made my life hell. He bullied me mercilessly; he threatened me with sexual abuse. My parents were too busy dealing with his teachers or the police calling about Greg fighting or setting fires.
Dear Eric: I have sent multiple gifts to everyone in the family over the years, despite my crushing student loan debt. I paid for my niece’s RN program after my brother abandoned her. I head home every holiday, give more cash, spend time. Now, I’m at a breaking point.
Dear Eric: My wife and I are both 70. We recently gave up our landline and now both carry our cellphones. Lately my wife, when receiving a text or call, will stop what she’s doing to reply. While eating lunch together recently and having a conversation, a text came in and she interrupted our talk to respond.
Dear Eric: Our home has become so full that we only have paths to go from one room to another. Stacks of boxes and bags and collections surround the paths. Despite this, I attempt to clean and vacuum this house, mostly on my own.
Dear Eric: Several months ago, a friend’s boyfriend broke up with her. She is devastated over this as she loves him very much. Even though he treated her very poorly by saying she is stupid and is an embarrassment, she still loves him.
Dear Eric: I took a job in DC at the behest of my close friend, who also invited me to live with her. She said she was retiring and moving back to her Midwest hometown. She offered to rent her townhouse to me for a really reduced rate while she’s in transition. Well, not only is she not making any attempts to move, but she also comments on my eating choices and constantly gives me unsolicited advice.
Dear Eric: I’ve always had a close relationship with my mom and, for much of my adult life, I didn’t really have a life of my own away from her. In the last few years, I entered into my first serious relationship. We moved in together and had an on-again-off-again thing for a while and are now living separately.
Dear Eric: I took a DNA test with an ex. The child is five. My ex gave me issues about it for years but finally caved in. We remained friends. Now that it’s verified that I’m not the child’s father, what do I do?
Dear Eric: Helena is now in her early 40s. She does not know this, but there are two more letters. Jim asked me to give her one on her wedding day, the other upon the birth of a child. I don’t think either event will happen – my daughter is most determinedly single.