Philip Galanes
Posts
Why Can’t My Friend Accept That My Disabled Son Has a Great Life?
Put off by pitying displays of concern for her son’s paralysis, a reader wonders how to handle a well-meaning friend whose support misses the mark.
My Brother’s Ex-Wife Won’t Return a Family Heirloom. Help!
A reader had hoped that her grandmother’s ring would stay in the family, perhaps to pass on to her daughter, but her former sister-in-law has...
My Oldest Friend Is Being Paroled From Prison. Can I Dump Her?
After supporting an old friend through years of incarceration with letters and shipments of books, a reader wants out, put off by the woman’s lies...
Why Did My Birth Son Invite Me to a Wedding and Then Seat Me in Siberia?
Reunited with her son after half a century, a reader feels slighted by her seat at a family wedding, where her son’s wife had already...
My Brother-in-Law Gets Free Child Care From His Parents. Why Don’t We?
Frustrated that she and her partner live too far away from his parents to reap the benefits of free grandparental supervision, a reader wonders how...
How Could My Brother-in-Law’s Twin Abandon Him During Cancer Treatment?
After offering his brother lodging for his course of radiation therapy, the man informed him — with one day’s notice — that the invitation was...
An Enemy Has Infiltrated My Walking Group. Help!
A reader is distraught that a woman she’s estranged from has been added to her most treasured circle of friends. Is there anything she can...
Why Does My Sister Want to Be Paid for Being the Executor of My Mother’s Will?
Months after the bulk of their mother’s estate was divided and paid, a reader’s sister is seeking to keep a remaining balance of $150,000 as...
My Friend Offered to Dogsit, Then Backed Out When Her Mother Died. Now What?
A reader is left wondering how to patch things up with irked neighbors after an understandably preoccupied friend left the reader’s dog alone to bark...
I Offered to Give My Home to My Son. Why Does He Expect Me to Leave It?
After her son responded with interest to the idea of moving back home to raise a family, a mother is hurt to realize that he...