People often recommend, "Why do you ask?" as a good conversation stopper. But that really doesn't end the conversation, it just leaves the other person sputtering for a response. I like, "You'll be the first to know.".

If you think a caregiver has an active substance abuse problem, that person should never be entrusted with your child.

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.

Insecurity is a toxin and confidence is a tonic, so make the choice not to dwell on the worst possible case.

If you didn't want to be written about, you shouldn't have been born to a writer!

Sometimes people have a wild past because they have an essentially wild nature, and that's how they plan to go through life. Sometimes such people settle into happy monogamy, and can be content there because they never have to wonder, "What did I miss?"