Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: My mom never talked about my birth father much as I was growing up. She just said he had a lot of problems that made it hard for…

Hi, Carolyn: My husband and partner of 37 years, age 65, has been courageously battling a neurological disease for the past 10 years. He is three years past the average life expectancy for this disease,…

Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I raised two kids, and I stayed home full time when they were small. Once I went back to work — my youngest was 4 — my life…

Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I am so hard on myself. I am like, “I want to achieve all of my goals NOW.” E.g., I got married at 23, have quickly climbed the…

Dear Carolyn: I have been dating someone for three months. A mutual friend set us up, so he came with glowing references. We had talked a bunch about previous relationships — we’re both around 40,…

We asked readers to channel their inner Carolyn Hax and answer this question. Some of the best responses are below. Dear Carolyn: I am donating a kidney to an acquaintance. It took a year of…

Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: As the long-distance daughter to an elderly, widowed mother with health needs, I have to navigate a tricky relationship with my sister who lives locally. Sister beat breast…

Dear Carolyn: My fiancée and I can’t agree on how to spend Christmas as a couple. She has one sister, who is single, and they were raised by a single mom after the death of…

Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: About a month ago, my mother had a procedure scheduled in my brother’s metro area, about four hours from my parents’. The plan was for my parents to…

Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: My 17-year-old son is uncomfortable bringing friends to our home. We live in a large old house that my husband and I see as quirky and interesting, and…