I try to direct people in distress to the right resources, where they can get comprehensive help. I've heard from many people that simply putting down in a letter what is going on in their lives is therapeutic in and of itself.

Sometimes people back themselves into corners where they think they have to make kind of an engraved-in-stone decision.

I do feel haunted by some of the letters and the suffering people have endured. But I keep in mind that the people who write to me know that I am a journalist and an on-line advice columnist, not a social service professional.

I can't imagine anything that would signal more clearly that life goes on and joy can follow tragedy than your having a much wanted child.

The only solution seems to be for government to toughen the vaccination laws and close the loopholes that allow people to opt out for philosophical and so-called religious reasons. The laws need to make clear: no shot, no school.

Unless you work at the Republican National Committee or some other conservatively affiliated organization, people's personal political preferences should not be a criterion for employment or comfort in the workplace.

When you're dealing with an in-law violation, I think the first line of defense is for the blood relation to have a serious talk.