Photo detail

Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailbox@creators.com, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Donate Report a Typo Contact

Stories this photo appears in:

Tease photo

Dear Readers: For the past 14 years, we have done our best to advise, consult, admonish and assuage. We are writing today with tears in our eyes as we say farewell.

June 30, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: A month ago, my wife was bitten by our neighbor’s foster dog.

June 29, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Several years ago, our son lived with a very immature young woman.

June 28, 2016
Tease photo

My 55-year-old daughter is a hoarder. She cannot pick up her clothes or keep them in order.

June 27, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: “Iris” and I have been friends for 20 years. She is married, retired and has grown children. I have a long-term boyfriend and a full-time job.

June 26, 2016
Tease photo

After years of attending and giving gifts for weddings, showers, birthday parties and graduations, my 34-year-old daughter is getting married. But she is getting the shaft from my huge family.

June 25, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My wife and I are in our 60s and recently celebrated our 15th anniversary. I know she loves me, but the physical side of our marriage has gone completely down the toilet.

June 24, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: How do I tell my 91-year-old mother to stop posting political messages on my 16-year-old daughter’s Facebook page, especially when Mom supports Donald Trump and knows that my daughter supports Bernie Sanders?

June 23, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Our card game is in a quandary. We have one member who is having memory problems.

June 22, 2016
Tease photo

The problem is, the caregiver has dogs and smells like it. I am allergic to dogs, and her scent gives me a headache as soon as I return home, and it continues the following day.

June 21, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Readers: Happy Father’s Day to all of the men in our reading audience who have had the pleasures and responsibilities of raising children.

June 19, 2016
Tease photo

Recently, I witnessed someone being grilled about his current cancer treatment and felt sorry for him.

June 18, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: What is the best way to deal with someone who is a bully and verbally abusive? My brother-in-law is very demeaning to my sister.

June 17, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: When is enough, enough? My granddaughter is getting married for the third time in August. We received a “save the date” card six months ago.

June 16, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I’ve seen several doctors recently, and each time I noticed that they gave a lot of information so quickly that I could not absorb it all, nor could I remember it entirely.

June 15, 2016
Tease photo

My husband is a good, dependable man, but he is a terrible hoarder.

June 12, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Yesterday, a store clerk complimented my ear cuffs, then had the gall to ask whether anyone had told me that I was too old to wear them.

June 12, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: You printed a letter from “Wondering,” who asked why older men smell bad, don’t change their clothes and live in filthy homes.

June 11, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I just received a baby shower invitation that makes me feel more like a fundraising target than a loving family member.

June 8, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My husband does not like to have any physical contact whatsoever, except for a peck hello or goodbye.

June 7, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My wife and I are expecting our fourth child. ...

June 5, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I need help getting my stepbrother to like me. I am a 12-year-old boy.

June 5, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I write a blog on science and spaceflight in particular. I had to respond to “Trapped in the Grave of a Dream,” the teenage girl whose strict parents only want her to become a doctor or lawyer, when she dreams of being an astronaut.

June 4, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My wife and I have been good friends with “Bill and June” for 30 years.

June 3, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I’ve been married for 29 years.

June 2, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am planning my wedding, which will take place next year.

June 1, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: When my wife and I took a trip to Canada, my granddaughter and her live-in boyfriend at the time called to ask for permission to spend a week in our house, which is near a beach.

May 31, 2016
Tease photo

When we asked you to try your hand at a gender-inclusive piece for Independence Day, we also received several poems that seemed more appropriate for Memorial Day.

May 30, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Because the cost of living is so high around here, I now rent bedrooms in my home to a couple of young adults in their 20s.

May 29, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: In the past five years, I have attended 14 weddings (several were expensive destination weddings), hosted seven baby showers, four bridal luncheons, six wedding showers and purchased 36 presents for various friends and relatives.

May 28, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: There is a couple that socializes with us and our friends.

May 27, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Until two years ago, I thought we had a loving family, even though my husband and I are divorced.

May 26, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am 71 years old, and I have taken care of my neighbor, “Martha,” for 15 years.

May 25, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: We live in a friendly town. Yet, we have some residents who are terribly disrespectful people of other people’s property.

May 24, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I work in an area where we are allowed to listen to the radio during work hours. This is great, as I enjoy the music. The problem is, one of our co-workers feels the need to loudly sing along to the songs. It is extremely annoying and also distracting.

May 23, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I recently attended a large social event fundraiser with some close friends.

May 22, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: “Can’t Win in Tennessee” said his wife calls him names, constantly criticizes him and threatens divorce.

May 21, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I have increasingly noticed how loud people can be in public places.

May 20, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I’ve been living with my boyfriend for nine years and we have a son together.

May 19, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am a widow in my 70s.

May 18, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Several months ago, my fiancee of two years announced that she wanted to date other people.

May 17, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I have a co-worker who often shows up late, constantly complains about how he doesn’t want to be “here” (in this city, at this job, etc.), spends most of his time reading Facebook posts aloud or trying to chat with the rest of the people in our department and generally wastes his time when he’s supposed to be working.

May 16, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Last weekend, my youngest daughter got her driver’s license.

May 15, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I read the letter from “The Family Mistake,” the 12-year-old boy whose nearest sibling is 29.

May 14, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I’d like to fix the relationship between my fiancee and my mother before things get out of hand.

May 13, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: After my mother died 10 years ago, Dad asked his four daughters what to do with the small cabin he owned upstate.

May 12, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: We raised our son in the Midwest, and paid for his tuition to follow his dream to go to an Ivy League college where he met his future wife.

May 11, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: What is the polite thing to do with a guest who carries a gun?

May 10, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I have suffered with lymphoma for 17 years, but praise God, I am doing well now.

May 9, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Readers: Happy Mother’s Day. Please phone your mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, stepmother or foster mother and wish them the best.

May 8, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am a 15-year-old boy and an only child.

May 7, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My married daughter has decided to estrange herself from her stepfather and me.

May 6, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My mother has always been a strong presence in my life. Growing up, I couldn’t do anything right. She took things away from me and redid them, or stood over me and directed

May 5, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Please advise your readers not to hold onto any letters that contain family information or intimate details of a relationship that should remain secret.

May 4, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: In three years, I will be away at college. I am concerned because Mom has a boyfriend with a major anger problem, and he throws tantrums and gets abusive.

May 3, 2016
Tease photo

I am a 38-year-old single man with a serious problem involving my 13-year-old nephew, “Hayden.”

May 2, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: What do you think about a married couple whose only intimacy is makeup sex?

May 1, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Can anyone tell me why old men (over 60) don’t or won’t shower or put on clean clothes?

April 30, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I married my high school sweetheart 39 years ago.

April 29, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Tragedy has struck our family. A cousin killed himself on Easter Sunday.

April 28, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Young people are ready, willing and able to tackle the world’s most difficult challenges, and yet are vastly underrepresented as active citizens, decision-makers and problem solvers.

April 27, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My cubicle is separated by a low wall from “Terri,” the woman who works next to me. Here’s the problem: I might be talking with seven other people near me at different times and we could be whispering, but Terri manages to hear the conversation and always has an opinion to add.

April 26, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am 15 years old and I love your column. Here’s my problem: Ever since I was a little girl, I had one dream – to become an astronaut.

April 25, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My husband and I spend winters in a three-bedroom condo in Florida.

April 24, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I want to write a letter to all the adult children who enjoy overnight visits to Grandma’s house with the kids.

April 23, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Our only child is 30. “Delia” was diagnosed with serious mental issues as a teen, but with the help of a sensitive child psychologist and an excellent child psychiatrist, she did very well.

April 22, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Two years ago, my husband bought a dog from a breeder.

April 21, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I’m 55 and have been married to the same man for 27 years.

April 20, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I have a different problem with people taking off their shoes.

April 19, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: In the past year, we have been told that two members of our family are gay.

April 18, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am the stepgrandma of a 2-year-old boy. “Danny” lives with his parents and an older sibling.

April 17, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: “Clean Shoes in Wisconsin” objected to his sister-in-law asking him to remove his shoes in her house. Yikes.

April 16, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My wife and I have been married for five years and we have two children. In the past year, she has been exceptionally critical and unloving.

April 15, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am a middle school student, and I signed up for drama at the beginning of the semester.

April 14, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I just heard about your contest to write a poem for July 4 that is more balanced, and that mentions women, as well as men.

April 13, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I spent two hours on the phone yesterday with a friend who can talk nonstop and rarely requires a response. I have another friend like this, and it’s exhausting.

April 12, 2016
Tease photo

My ex-husband, the father of my kids, decided to date my younger sister, who is in the early stages of recovery from heroin addiction.

April 11, 2016
Tease photo

I am a young lady in my 20s, and I think I’ve found the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. ...

April 10, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: “Your Opinion Please” said he originally planned to split his estate 60/40 in favor of his son (successful) and daughter (who had mental health issues, including drug abuse).

April 9, 2016
Tease photo

Our 46-year-old son is bright, caring and an all-around good guy. Here’s the problem ...

April 7, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: While my leashed dog and I are bonding and enjoying our time together, people will virtually block our way and – without asking me – begin to vigorously pet my dog and interact directly with her.

April 7, 2016
Tease photo

Now that it’s time to head home, two couples talk constantly about traveling our way this summer, staying with us while they see the sights of our city.

April 6, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I always had an exaggerated response to alcohol and could never have just one drink.

April 5, 2016
Tease photo

My parents didn’t plan me and I’m tired of being constantly told that I am the family “mistake.”

April 4, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My younger sister and I are young adults currently living with our grandpar-ents to ease the commute to school and work.

April 3, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I read the letter from “Too Little, Too Late,” whose Vietnam vet husband is robotic and unaffectionate. This sounds like my husband.

April 2, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My sister-in-law is going through dialysis. She is able to do it in the comfort of her home with help of a nurse, so she can be close to her young kids. Her husband dotes on her.

April 1, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I come from a large family. We haven’t had any truly rough times, but our sister-in-law is proving to be a problem for me.

March 31, 2016
Tease photo

I have a beautiful daughter who is in rehab for drug addiction.

March 30, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My husband and I have chosen not to have children. His family asks repeatedly if we’ve “changed our minds” about it, so obviously they do not approve of our choice.

March 29, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I adopted two older children from different orphanages and now they are grown adults.

March 28, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Do you have any suggestions for dealing with a con artist sibling who swoops into town only to beg, borrow and steal from our dying, incapacitated father?

March 27, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am in my early 50s, a widow, with five great kids, all now grown, out of college and thriving on their own.

March 26, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I belong to a large group of friends across several states who get together often to camp and ride motorcycles. Recently, one couple in our group had a terrible accident.

March 25, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My husband’s high school sweetheart (from 30 years ago) refuses to let go of the past and move on.

March 24, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: This evening, I went to the local YMCA to swim. When I was through, I showered, as I always do, since I go back to work afterward.

March 23, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I live with a friend who wants the house to be neat all of the time. But his personal habits are disgusting.

March 22, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I have been dating “Brad” for three years.

March 21, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Many years ago, I was separated from my husband for several years. At the tail end of our separation, I discovered he had been cheating on me.

March 20, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I am a divorced mother of two married children. I am now retired, but in the past, I have helped both my children with financial problems.

March 19, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My husband, “Derek” and I have been married for 18 years and we have four children.

March 18, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My ex-daughter-in-law’s brother would have been sleeping on the streets for the past two years if it weren’t for my husband.

March 17, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: As a youth anti-tobacco advocate, I’m incredibly proud of our country’s progress against tobacco.

March 16, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My oldest and youngest sisters are 10 years apart.

March 15, 2016
Tease photo

I have been married for 25 years to “Betty,” a beautiful, intelligent, caring woman from Greece. Our marriage has been good. We are financially solid, and we share values and interests.

March 14, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: Eight years ago, I moved in with my parents to help care for them.

March 12, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My son is 36 years old and was raised in a Christian home. However, twice in the last two months, he has posted pictures on Facebook of women being hit by men.

March 11, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: My sister lives with my father. She is supposed to be helping him, but she has a problem with depression and self-medicates with marijuana and alcohol.

March 10, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease five years ago during an annual physical at the age of 79.

March 9, 2016
Tease photo

Dear Annie: I’ve been seeing a very nice man for more than a year.

By Syndicated Column February 24, 2016