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,…
My sister gets into toxic fights with my mother. How can I help?
Dear Annalisa, I’m a 40-year-old man and worried about my family. Since my sister (in her late 30s) became pregnant with her first child four years ago, there…
My father threw out my box of memories, then took his own life. How do I move on?
Dear Annalisa, Not long before the Covid pandemic, my dad threw out my cardboard box of mementoes that I had stored in his garage for “safekeeping”: years’ worth…
I haven’t told my parents I have cancer, as I fear they will say something hurtful
Dear Annalisa, Last year, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I have told a few people, but not my family, other than my brother, and I…
My sister is stressed and distant. I want to help but don’t know how
Dear Annalisa, I am in my 30s and the middle child of three sisters. We don’t see one another that often as we live across the UK, but try…
My son’s girlfriend has taken over his life and I fear he’s being suffocated
Dear Annalisa, A year ago, our almost 18-year-old son began seeing a girl, who is a year older than him and is his first ‘real’ girlfriend. Soon he stopped…
How can I do more to help my parents when I have a young family of my own?
Dear Annalisa, A few months ago, my dad went into a care home. The cognitive symptoms of his Parkinson’s were getting worse after 18 years and my…
I want to end my stifling marriage – but can’t bear how much hurt I’d cause
Dear Annalisa, I am in my late 40s, married for 20 years with two teenagers, and I feel trapped. For several years I have known that I…
My husband unfairly blames me for our son’s eating disorder
Dear Annalisa, My husband and I have two teenage boys, the youngest being 14. Our younger son has struggled with anxiety and low self-esteem, issues that…
How should I tell my bigoted mother that my daughter has come out?
Dear Annalisa, About 10 months ago my 27-year-old daughter came out as gay. This was a surprise as she had previously only dated men but we have adjusted to…
Annalisa Barbieri 
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