In Other Words (Letters from other advice columns)

The following letter appeared in a recent Dear Abby column and was sent to me by a DW reader who was outraged by the advice given. I read the advice and felt torn, which you can read about below, after the jump. I am a junior in high school. Last year, a guy I have known for two years began showing a sexual interest in me. I rejected his advances. Last week, he began expressing his interest again, letting me know he wanted to have sex. He invited me to study — only study — but said we “might” make out. I was a virgin and had never even kissed anyone before….

I would love to have a new column for you to read right now but the truth is I haven’t been receiving many letters lately that I find interesting enough to publish. I even went through my “hold” file, filled with several hundred letters I haven’t published and none of them spoke to me either. So I’m going to post a letter from a recent Savage Love column that reminded me of this letter from a couple months back. That will give you something to read and discuss for today, but please, if you have some drama in your life you want some insight on, email me! Bonus if your drama includes…

From a recent Dear Prudence column: When my ex and I were married, we had trouble conceiving and years of heartache. I thought our marriage was strong enough to survive this, then I discovered he was having an affair with my sister. We had a huge, traumatic confrontation and my then husband and I decided to move and make a fresh start. A few weeks after we moved, my sister gave the news that—surprise!—she was pregnant. My ex then divorced me to start a family with her. Because I’d just started a new job and had a mortgage, it was financially impossible for me to leave. I stayed in the new city…

My sister sent me this recent WTF(!!) column from ELLE’s Ask E. Jean, who seems a little off her rocker, maybe? My mother is an attractive, interesting woman who reads ELLE and The Economist, dresses fashionably, and maintains a petite size 2 frame. Recently, I found out that my 39-year-old husband (of 14 years) has been having sex with her when he attends conferences at the resort near where she lives. When he told me, I was bothered by the fact that it didn’t bother me. He’s a wonderful man — father to our two children and a good provider — and he’s always taken care of me emotionally, sexually, and financially….

This letter is from a recent Dear Prudence column and it makes me uncomfortable. I came home early from work on Friday to the unexpected sound of the vacuum cleaner running in my 12-year-old son’s room. Thinking that perhaps this was a sign of the apocalypse — my son cleaning his room without major nagging on my part — I burst in there and caught him with his pants down and the hose attachment attached to his, well, you know. He froze like a deer in the headlights and, after picking my jaw up off the floor, I mumbled something stupid like “excuse me” and turned around and walked out and hid…

This letter is from a recent Dear Prudence column. It makes yesterday’s column from the woman whose young lover knocked up another woman seem mild.: My mind is still reeling. My fiancé confessed to me last week that his younger niece is actually his child. He had a short affair with his brother’s wife, who conceived the month her husband was away. They ended things just before finding out she was pregnant, and she lied about the dates to cover it up. My fiancé knew all this and said nothing because he didn’t want to break up their family. My fiancé’s brother is a good guy and I genuinely like him. I’ve…

This letter is from a recent Dear Prudence column: My husband was estranged from his parents for many years. He reached out to them when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. They didn’t have enough time to discuss and resolve their past, but they were at peace with each other when he died. Now my husband’s parents wish to keep in touch with me and my toddler-age son, as he is the only link they have to their only child. The problem is that my son is not my husband’s biological child. I had an affair, the biological father dumped me upon realizing I was pregnant, and my husband (to cut…