‘Recently, I read back over many of your letters, and if there was a consistent pattern to be found in my responses, it was: listen more, talk more’

‘She makes it her mission to spread rumours and gossip to manipulate our social situation’

‘Everyone makes a clunker of a joke now and again – something that sounded funnier in your head, or just a case of wildly misreading your audience’

‘It’s a terrible feeling that many women experience because we constantly compare our bodies with impossible-to-attain perfection in the media’

‘Our digitally native kids don’t understand how their actions can come back to embarrass or harm them later’

‘I find myself wondering what it might be like to date and get to know a completely new person. I don’t want to leave my partner, but…’

‘Frenemies don’t bring anything to the table and they make us feel bad, sneakily undermining us with covert criticism, making sure our life pales in comparison to their own’

‘He rarely takes my side and it makes me feel rejected’

‘Life is a series of calculated risks. Sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don’t, but they always take us somewhere new’

‘In an ideal world, this situation would be something you could talk about with your wife. Unfortunately, she’d probably feel pretty bad’

‘I’m morally opposed to giving a penny to a company that thinks it’s OK to paint disgusting slogans about women all over its vans. But he won’t budge’

‘Maybe your jealousy is entirely unfounded, but I happen to think that the strong feelings you describe are there for a reason’

‘Your brain desperately needs the hormones that fire during exercise, which in turn helps to give you the motivation to tackle the other stuff in life’

‘The too close/not close tango is one you will find yourself dancing throughout this relationship’

‘I don’t see much of a difference between using alcohol or cannabis, except that the former seems to incite a lot more violence’

‘Family is always worth a try. Who knows, through a campaign of compassionate honesty you might be able to repair your own relationship with her, too’

‘Why you are feeling anxious is what to stay focused on. If you don’t get to the root of this, you are destined to sabotage your friendship’

‘No son would like to imagine his mother unhappy. By going on, and living as fully and joyfully as you possibly can, you honour his memory’

‘After 33 years together, the optimist in me would like to think your marriage deserves a chance to be saved’

‘We both know the attraction is there, and he has started making plans for us to do things together including meeting his kids’