Dear Abby: In-laws a nightmare, hubby won’t help

Dear Abby My in-laws have repeatedly attempted to destroy my marriage My husband knows they trash-talk us to family thinking we don t know it but he won t put up any meaningful boundaries or check them whatsoever I have lost all respect for him because he lies to me telling me he has confronted them when I know for a fact he hasn t We separated over this issue and he spent four years dragging his feet until I got sick of his stalling and began dating to get him to act He yearned to reconcile so I made the terms of getting back together clear Confront his family about their toxic behavior get therapy for his self-esteem issues and finish working on our house so we could sell it and move away from our neighbor the heroin dealer who had been harassing us for years He finished the house and after two years on and off the area I ended up selling it But the confrontation with his family never happened I still catch them talking trash about us and he has refused to go to therapy I ve been through therapy and anger management and have come a long way But he s firmly entrenched in his dysfunction and doesn t see or care how it affects me I spent the first years of our marriage being an unprioritized afterthought of a wife I refuse to continue to be that person after everything we ve been through When is enough enough At a Crossroads in the South Dear Crossroads Enough was enough when you eventually realized your husband wasn t going to change and accepted that he will never be strong enough to draw the line with his abusive family I m surprised your marriage has lasted this long Dear Abby How do you handle a friend who never stops talking My longtime friend has dependably been a good storyteller but as we become older she hijacks every conversation when we get together She s oblivious to verbal or body cues that the rest of us are done with the conversation she has chosen and would like to move on If someone is able to get a word in edgewise she promptly returns to the previous subject I come away from gatherings feeling angry and frustrated Is there a way to address this without blowing up a lifelong relationship Muzzled in the Midwest Dear Muzzled I don t think there is You stated that your longtime friend has reliably been a good storyteller It is attainable that as you all are growing older she has begun having cognitive problems It may also be a reason why she s not picking up on social cues Would her spouse if she has one or her children if she has any have noticed any changes Start asking And if the response you receive is that this is just the way she is for the sake of your sanity see her less often Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren also known as Jeanne Phillips and was founded by her mother Pauline Phillips Contact Dear Abby at www DearAbby com or P O Box Los Angeles CA