My mother’s grief is making our relationship toxic
Dear Annalisa, I am a woman in my late 30s, married with two small children with a rewarding and demanding career. I live some hours’ drive away from…
How do I protect my bereaved friend from predatory behaviour?
Dear Annalisa, I recently saw an old friend for the first time in a few years and feel I must do something to help her but I’m…
Can I ever heal after the lack of love my birth mother showed me?
Dear Annalisa, I am a much-loved adopted child. Both my adoptive parents died several years ago. I was told that my birth mother apparently loved me…
My partner won’t wear sun cream despite my pleas – I’m terrified he’ll get cancer
Dear Annalisa, I am in a long-term relationship with a wonderful man but it bothers me that when sunbathing he never uses sun cream except on his face. I am…
How can I cope with my manipulative mother? The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I am a woman in my 50s looking for advice on how to cope with my needy and manipulative mother, who is in her…
15 ways to support someone who is grieving. The Guardian.
1. Never avoid someone who has been bereaved. It’s confusing and hurtful. Texts, emails and letters are all acceptable – it’s the contact that matters. Grief…
I’ve fallen for a man who has lost his wife but he no longer wants to see me. The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa Last year, I signed up to a cycling holiday abroad. I hadn’t cycled seriously for two decades. I fell in love with the country…
I’ve just discovered that my adored dad, who is now dead, had an affair. The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I loved my dad. I was a serious daddy’s girl until he died when I was 13. Even though I only spent a little…
I coped well after my partner left me and the children five years ago, but suddenly I feel overwhelmed. The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I’m a single parent with sole responsibility for my two children. Their father left about five years ago, before they started school, and now…
When should I show my daughter a letter her dad wrote her before his death? The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I don’t so much have a problem as a quandary. My husband died of cancer, aged 33, in 2003. We had a daughter the…
Annalisa Barbieri 