A listener has spotted small, worrying signs in an aging, fiercely independent parent and keeps losing her nerve to say anything. How do you start a conversation you're not sure you're allowed to have?

A listener is quietly ashamed of the jealousy she feels every time her partner celebrates a career win she once wanted for herself. Can you be genuinely happy for someone and still be undone by it?

A listener is mourning a lifelong best friendship that didn't end in any fight, just slowly stopped keeping pace after marriage and kids changed their lives at different speeds. Is this just what happens to every friendship eventually?

A listener's husband is happy to help with anything she asks — but never notices what needs doing on his own. Is 'he'll do anything I ask' actually the same thing as an equal marriage?

A listener writes: her marriage went quiet eight months ago, and everyone tells her that's a good thing -- but it doesn't feel like peace. Mia on the real difference between resolution and just giving up on expecting anything from each other, and a simple way to actually tell them apart.

Real questions about love and marriage, answered honestly, one letter at a time.