Life Advice
/Health
Asking Eric: Grieving daughter won’t let mom sell childhood home
Dear Eric: I have an adult daughter who moved out but does not want me to change her former bedroom.
She had a breakup seven years ago that caused a nervous breakdown because of the cruel way it was done: packing her things up and mailing them to our house. She moved back in with us as a result of this breakup and started therapy.
After many ...Read more
Asking Eric: Burnt twice, future mother-in-law wants no relationship
Dear Eric: I have been dating a wonderful man for a little over a year and we are talking about getting married. I have been married once before and he has been married twice before with children from both marriages. His second ex-wife had addiction issues.
His mother has declared that she has no desire or time to get to know me after dealing ...Read more
Asking Eric: Wife says husband’s affection is creepy
Dear Eric: I am a 64-year-old man, married for 42 years. I am married to the smartest, kindest, most decent person I have ever known. I tell her that all the time. I am also still wildly attracted to her. She finds that creepy which makes me feel awful. She feels my physical attraction to her is demeaning. Is it creepy for me to still feel so ...Read more
Asking Eric: Once-distant father now demands child’s help
Dear Eric: I had a very close relationship with my father, until he remarried in my mid-20’s. When he remarried, he told my brother and me that we would be excluded from his trust. He stated that he had raised us and was done with any financial support.
Since then, we have had a superficial relationship at times, and a conflicted one at ...Read more
Asking Eric: Girlfriend not invited to family funeral
Dear Eric: I'm involved with a man whose sister recently died. I rented a car, bought his kids clothes for the funeral and made sure everything was in order. The funeral was out of town. I wanted to be there for support, but he didn't invite me. I took off of work and he left with his kids.
When I told him how I felt about not being invited, he...Read more
Asking Eric: Wife debates telling husband his body has changed
Dear Eric: How should I tell my husband he has breasts? He is not a vain man, and I suspect does not study himself in a mirror. He is on many new meds which can result in developing this condition.
For the most part he is fully dressed, but it’s summertime and he may, at some point, want to remove his shirt to swim with friends. I’m sure ...Read more
Asking Eric: Beach house inheritance divides siblings
Dear Eric: Before he passed years ago, my father transferred his beach house to his six adult kids. We did not ask to become owners of a shared house, and I always thought it was a horrible idea.
Most of us kids tend to travel to different places, while one has always loved to vacation at the beach house. My father would hand expenses to those ...Read more
Asking Eric: Friend ghosted after big monetary gift
Dear Eric: I am a 33-year-old male on the autism spectrum. I have a friend, "Katie," who has been a big part of my life for the last few years. I have been a mentor and friend for her three little boys, and she, in return, has been a good friend to me.
Katie deals with a lot of anxiety (she considers herself neurodiverse, possibly on the High ...Read more
Asking Eric: Successful sons refuse to leave the nest
Dear Eric: My sons are currently 26 and 24 years old. Both went to amazing colleges and currently have six-figure careers. They both moved back home when their colleges shut down for COVID.
Neither son is looking to "launch" from the nest, blaming high costs of living in our area, blaming boomers for ruining the world, etc. They have a bad ...Read more
Asking Eric: Son-in-law won’t stop sending political texts
Dear Eric: My 89-year-old mom is a button-wearing, T-shirt slogan, lifelong Democrat. She is also afraid of confrontation. My younger sister's husband, who leans Republican, forwards my mother texts from Fox News and people on X making fun of Democrats. Sometimes she's so upset she can't sleep because what he forwards may seem funny to him, but ...Read more
Asking Eric: Family wants to support nephew without condoning behavior
Dear Eric: My adult nephew and his girlfriend recently had a child. They are both in their mid-30s and neither has gainful employment. My nephew has also struggled with mental health issues. His mother passed away several years ago, so his remaining family system consists of grandparents, aunts and uncles.
I am trying to reconcile my feelings ...Read more
Asking Eric: ‘Helicopter’ grandma is suddenly ghosted
Dear Eric: I am the grandparent of a now 24-year-old grandchild. Starting in high school and continuing through college he was not fully engaged – he did not turn in homework, missed classes. In steps "helicopter grandma" (a high school counselor and former teacher) who is unable to accept this.
What followed is eight long years of torment on...Read more
Asking Eric: Kids split over estrangement from dad, mom caught in the middle
Dear Eric: One of my offspring has cut off all communication with her father, my ex-husband. He hasn’t even met his 4-year-old grandson. My other child has a close relationship with my ex.
The daughter in question claims my ex was not a good father. He certainly wasn’t a good provider; I supported the family financially. He was likely ...Read more
Asking Eric: Difficult friend wants to lunch too much
Dear Eric: Twenty-six years ago, I became friends with another woman at the company where I used to work. We're retired now.
The odds of us becoming friends seemed remote, since we seem to be opposites in personality, but our friendship has endured.
In all these years, we would get together for lunch at random times. In the fall of 2022, I ...Read more
Asking Eric: Bad boss is also a bad volunteer, co-workers fear
Dear Eric: The manager at my place of work volunteers with a group that’s not related to our work. The volunteer group works with the court system to help women in recovery from substance abuse access community resources.
My co-workers and I hear our manager interact with other group volunteers when they occasionally meet at our workspace: ...Read more
Asking Eric: Daughter living the high life while mom struggles
Dear Eric: I’m a 52-year-old mother and grandmother. My daughter and granddaughter live with me due to some bad life choices my daughter has made. It’s very clear to me that being a mother is not high on her priority list nor does she have the energy or motivation to step up.
I have basically become a mother again as I tend to my ...Read more
Asking Eric: Husband’s sister invades social plans
Dear Eric: My sister-in-law’s husband passed away several years ago. Over the years, my husband and I only saw them occasionally for holidays. A year after her husband passe d away, she suddenly announced that she would be moving back to her hometown where we reside.
She purchased a home in a 55+ community 15 minutes from our home. As a ...Read more
Asking Eric: Daughter suspicious of mom’s ‘tax benefit’ wedding
Dear Eric: My mom and her partner have been together for 20 years. This winter, my mom informed me that, upon the advice of their financial adviser, they’d be getting married this year.
I have zero issues or concerns about the man she’s marrying, but knowing the reason is based on a financial “nudge” for tax bracket purposes, insurance ...Read more
Asking Eric: Husband ‘just chatting’ on Facebook dating site
Dear Eric: I recently discovered my husband was messaging/talking to three women through the dating portion of Facebook. I saw messages on his phone from one woman and a phone call for 44 minutes.
I confronted him and he said he was trying to learn how to communicate and he was not cheating.
I decided that if he thought this was OK, then it ...Read more