I’m smitten, but I am worried that my boyfriend’s dysfunctional family will impact our relationship
Dear Annalisa, I have been dating my boyfriend (we are both in our 20s) for almost a year. I’m absolutely smitten. He makes me feel a better person,…
How do we tell our young daughter that she has a half-brother?
Dear Annalisa, My daughter is eight years old. She’s sensible, fun, kind and compassionate. Her father and I have been divorced since she was two and we…
Both my parents died and then my step-parents got together. Why can’t I be happy for them?
Dear Annalisa, I’m a woman in my 40s. My father died three years ago, my mother two. Three months after my mother’s death, her partner, Alan (not…
My stepson lives with a girlfriend twice his age. Should I be worried?
Dear Annalisa, A few years ago I got married and became step-parent to a teenager (now in his early 20s) who was raised by his alcoholic and…
I’m worried my mum is rushing into marriage with her new boyfriend
Dear Annalisa, My mum recently broke up with her boyfriend of 11 years, a man I view as my father. Two months later, she rekindled her relationship with…
How do I explain to my children the rift with my mother, whose partner abused me? The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I have been estranged from my mother since I was 18. When my brother and I were very young, my mother left my father…
My sister helped me to escape our family – now she’s abandoned me. The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I am the youngest of a brood of girls and left home at 17. My father was very strict and my mother lived abroad…
My girlfriend is always having to rescue her adult children and it’s affecting our partnership. The Guardian.
Dear Annalisa I have been in a relationship for about two years with a woman I love and adore, and we have lived together for a…
Annalisa Barbieri 