Dear Ask Alina, Iam part of what they call the “sandwich generation.” I am married with two children in elementary school, and both my husband and I are watching our parents age and needing more of our help. We both work demanding jobs, our kids are entering summer break, and our parents are spending [...]
Dear Ask Alina, I have been married for two years. Our marriage is solid but we get into arguments here and there. My parents are scheduled to come from our home country and stay with us for six months. On one hand, I am super happy about finally seeing my parents, but on the [...]
Dear Ask Alina, I have been unhappy in my marriage for a long time, and I am finally ready to tell my husband that I want a divorce. We have two young children, and I am feeling guilty at the thought of splitting our family. Help me not chicken out and have enough courage [...]
Dear Ask Alina: My father-in-law has two daughters-in-law and one son-in-law and over the past few years he has started to treat us differently. Many times, he won’t even acknowledge us. We try to say “hi” and he pretends as if he doesn’t hear us. Just the other day when he couldn’t get hold [...]
Dear Ask Alina, The tech layoffs hit our family. My husband lost his job late last year. Ever since his job loss our relationship has been on rocky ground. He is moody and distant. I left my career to become a stay-at-home mom when our first child was born. We live our life fiscally [...]
Dear Ask Alina, I am devastated and frightened. Earlier this year I was laid off from a company only a year after joining them, and have been job hunting for months with no offers in sight. I was so sure of myself when taking that job. It was great money, good title, lots of [...]
Dear Ask Alina, I need help navigating this year’s holidays. I am recently divorced with a 10-year-old daughter. For many years I had a close community of friendships created through our daughter’s school and neighbors. Holidays have always been joyous with lots of parties, neighborhood gatherings, and our festive house. Although our daughter continues [...]
Our society has an expected story of us: find love, get married, have children. Many women get in the frenzy of this expectation and lose sight of what is important: self-love. As a therapist, I meet women every week who suffer from a loneliness syndrome; each one of them is married. These women take care [...]
Do we have too many gadgets in our life? I ponder this question as I sit in the living room on a Friday night with my husband. We are both watching TV, playing on our smart phones, and here and there insert a conversation. Are we committed to any of the three items we are [...]
As I flip through the channels on TV, laying in bed, and thinking, I decide to take out my laptop and start writing. I hate how all the movies and sitcoms are about the holidays. You may be reading this and saying, well du-uh Alina, that’s nothing new. Or you maybe reading this and saying, [...]
