Dear Barb: Help! I’m addicted to my phone, and I hate it! It’s the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing at night.  At least I don’t bring my phone into the bedroom with me at night like some of my friends do.  But I’m always checking my phone, even… Read more »

Make your New Year’s resolution to butt out!  Quit smoking—before your blonde hair frizzes, your lush lips wither—and your lungs singe. I smoked during grades six and seven.  Luckily, basketball, volleyball, soccer—sports of all sorts—saved my lungs.  Sadly, I restarted puffing in grade ten.   I’d carry two packs a day, one for myself, the other… Read more »

We really need to have a serious chat about our relationship.  I’ve been with you for many years, and though, deep down, I don’t want to give you up, I feel like the spark I first felt for you is no longer there.  What started out as a passionate love affair—a deep infatuation, if you… Read more »

Dear Barb: Hi, my brother is addicted to opiates.  His wife and two kids have suffered extensively from his addiction, as have my parents.  He has tried many times to get off the drugs but it hasn’t worked.  He mostly lives on the streets and has no income to speak of.  He often shows up… Read more »