In preparing for war, President Bush has made it clear that he appreciates the awesome nature of this decision. I trust he has considered the economic and political costs. No doubt he has taken into account that many people will be killed, and that the long-term effects can never be foreseen. But has he considered […]

Dear Dr. Dan: Last May, my divorced son married a divorced woman with two children, a boy of 17 and a girl of 11. Her children join his three boys, ages 12, 8 and 6. He and his new wife are very well-suited, and we feel they will have a good life together. However, as […]

An open letter to adolescents: Last time, I talked about some of the stresses you are living with; specifically, the relentless pressure to achieve. Many of you have told me the pressure you feel is constant, and in the process of trying to be better than you are, you feel alone and isolated. I am […]

Despite the recent spate of adolescent suicides in Cherry Hill, the incidence of teenage suicide is actually down over the last decade. According to Dr. Howard Sudak, past president of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, we have made remarkable progress in recognizing and treating the clinical depression that underlies nearly 90 percent of all […]

Alan Turin has the kind of life many people wish for. He has a successful career, a happy marriage, and two grown daughters who were recently married. So when he reached his mid-50s he realized that it was time to give something back. On the other hand, Angela Frazier has a life that very few […]

When I first became a quadriplegic, one of the greatest gifts someone gave me was coming into my hospital room and saying: “I have no idea what you are going through. Please tell me.” I thought about that story when I read the following two letters. Dear Dr. Gottlieb: I am writing about my aging […]

Dear Dr. Dan, My wife and I cannot seem to resolve a parenting issue that we have debated about for many years. In short, I believe we should establish a firm bedtime for our young children. My wife has never supported this idea (we have argued frequently about it) and has always used the phrase […]

Dan, My husband and I have raised four children. Three children are loving and respectful, educated, and hard working. The fourth child has a “dream.” In his 30s, he went a thousand miles away to fulfill this dream. Although he has never missed a chance to tell us what failures we are as parents, we […]

For the first time in the five years since she died, I recently dreamed about my mother. I met her in heaven. She was walking next to my father and describing heaven: “It’s all about love here. Everyone loves everyone else.” When we think about heaven and love, the last place that comes to mind […]

Kathryn Voight will miss the feeling of her forehead touching her husband’s when they fall asleep. Most of us don’t spend time thinking of these things. Most of us have the luxury not to. Kathryn and Jerry Voight were enjoying their lives. In 1998 Kathryn was a 62-year-old woman enjoying her career and her children; […]