My mother and mother-in-law have had a falling out due to a misunderstanding on my mother-in-law's part. My mother-in-law lives with me and my mother is due to visit in the summer (she lives abroad). Before I collapse with stress, I need some external perspective on this issue. Help! [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 8, 2013 - 15 answers

If I lie (a very big lie), can I ever redeem myself? [more inside]
posted by raintree on Jun 15, 2012 - 41 answers

Dad and I don't really get along, and I don't feel happy or comfortable in the same house as him. What can I do to make things better, short of moving out? [more inside]
posted by cucumber patch on May 28, 2012 - 23 answers

How should I ease myself out of the family conflict? [more inside]
posted by sanskrtam on Mar 12, 2012 - 9 answers

How do I become comfortable with how my father chooses to be involved in my life (minimally, not of his own initiative) as an adult? What are the limits between healthy and compassionate effort on my part and a realistic acknowledgment of both of our limitations? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 24, 2012 - 8 answers

How do I address my parents' insistence on bringing a dog into our house when my wife is opposed to it? [more inside]
posted by Run.Faster on Dec 23, 2011 - 56 answers

My mother threw out a number of things during a redecoration. She told me to look through them to make sure nothing precious was getting thrown out. The thing is, I thought I had plenty of time to do this before a planned trip to the thrift store a few weeks from now. I didn't realize that a number of these things would get thrown outside next to the garbage cans to get rained on. Among them was an irreplaceable (AFAIK) VHS tape of my late father competing in a TV quiz show. My mother cannot understand why this upsets me, has several arguments for why she is right, and I feel unable to cope with arguing about it. Please tell me what to say! [more inside]
posted by tel3path on Jul 10, 2011 - 41 answers

How do you stay calm under (social) pressure? I'm looking for some tips on how to keep my cool when someone is really trying to wind me up and make me lose my temper. [more inside]
posted by rubbish bin night on Jun 2, 2011 - 28 answers

I will be spending a week on a small boat with my dysfunctional family. How can I prepare myself so that this is a tolerable, or even pleasant, experience? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 6, 2011 - 32 answers

How do I help the members of my immediate family to accept that I have a casual relationship with family members that have been effectively disowned? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 4, 2010 - 37 answers

Should I, or should I not meet with my estranged relatives? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 16, 2009 - 23 answers

Things with my parents are not good right now due to what I (thought) was a reasonable (although mishandled) decision. I knew it would be hard but wasn't expecting this; how do we deal? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 1, 2008 - 31 answers

Should I go home for Christmas? (Warning: long family financial drama inside). [more inside]
posted by snickerdoodle on Dec 16, 2007 - 16 answers

ConflictResolutionFilter: We have a family friend who is an 85 year old woman and has been having problems with her two grown sons. They are both married with children, but classic daughter-in-law conflicts have led her sons to not have contact with her. [more inside]
posted by steve.wdc on Jul 12, 2007 - 12 answers