Author

Cary Tennis

I write. Writing is my life. I write to save my soul and I write to make money. I write to help other people and I write to help myself. I bring people together to write in an atmosphere of radical courage and honesty; I help people hear the majesty and dignity of their own voices, and to respect the unique contents of their own hearts and memories; I struggle to send my own work out for publication as an example to others. My wife Norma and I sold our San Francisco house and moved to Castiglion Fiorentino, a walled medieval town in Tuscany. We now hold writing retreats there and I am writing a book about leaving the U.S. and living in Italy.

My former best friend became a stripper

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  [button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from December 10, 2010 Wow. We were so close in high school, and now she’s doing drugs and hanging out with gangs Dear Cary, “Jenny” and I were the best of friends in high school. We did everything together and were more like sisters than friends. After high...

I’m 38 and want kids, but the men I’m dating don’t

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from TUESDAY, OCT 11, 2005 Since divorce, life has been pretty swell, but now I want to settle down and be a mom. Dear Cary, I was violently thrust into the dating inferno after my divorce nearly six years ago. During that time I’ve run the gamut of interactions:...

I’m so anxious I can’t think straight

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2007   I know what the issues are, but I can’t really deal with them. Dear Cary, Lately I’ve been very anxious about my father. I’ve been anxious about mortality and life goals, or how to live in general, but particularly as it concerns my...

My next-door neighbor died and I didn’t do a thing

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from WEDNESDAY, MAR 29, 2006 Am I a terrible person, or just a normal American? Dear Cary, Before I begin, I want to preface this by explaining that by nature, I’m a fairly shy person. I hate calling people, I hate confrontation; I prefer to keep to myself. It takes...

I’m a suburban husband in my 40s and I think I’m getting depressed

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from FRIDAY, JAN 11, 2008 I don’t know if this is just typical midlife stuff, or if I’m in serious psychological trouble. Dear Cary: I am a suburban husband in my 40s with two wonderful kids, a good marriage, a secure job and financial situation, no medical...

Self-education

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from TUESDAY, JAN 20, 2004 I grew up in an abusive household, but I’m determined to be happy. Am I capable of it? Dear Cary, I grew up in the home of a raging alcoholic, drug abuser and emotionally and verbally abusive father. For the first 18 years of my life every...

My 8-year-old misses his old life — should we move back to the suburbs?

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from THURSDAY, OCT 19, 2006 It was good to separate from their alcoholic dad — but I feel bad about bringing my kids to the city. Dear Cary, My husband and I are recently separated. To make a long story short, he developed a serious drinking habit over the...

Mad about him

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from THURSDAY, AUG 21, 2003 Our love makes me feel part of something bigger, but his anger scares me. Dear Cary, I’m in love. Hooray! This is a good thing. It’s beautiful. There is mutual honesty, caring and affection. This man encourages me to think and to explore...

My brother abused me — now our parents want us all together again!

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from Friday, May 23, 2008 I would like to help them celebrate their 50th anniversary, but I dread being in the same room with that man. Dear Cary, When I was a teenager, I was sexually abused by my older brother. I’ve been through three different therapists trying...

Somebody sent child protective services to my house!

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from FRIDAY, NOV 30, 2007 An anonymous complaint brought a scary visitor with a list of accusations. Dear Cary, I have an unusual problem that is really hurting me. About two months ago, a worker from the child protection agency in my town appeared on my doorstep...

Breaking up with San Francisco: How we decided

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The way this whole thing started was my wife and I were sitting at the dining room table and I had my head in my hands and at this point I can’t remember but I think it was she who first said, Well, we could sell the house and move to Italy and yes, now that I think about it I’m sure it was she who said that first, not me, because if it had been me saying it then it would have been just another...

What do I owe him?

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from MONDAY, JUL 21, 2003 My abusive husband is dying and I have a lover. How good do I have to be? Dear Cary, Last year I went to visit a divorce lawyer, having finally got up the nerve to end a 29-year marriage (I’m 49) to a physically and emotionally abusive man...

I don’t want my husband at my high school reunion

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2006 I’m not ashamed of him, but I think he’ll be bored and make me nervous. Dear Cary, Am I a horrible person for hoping my husband doesn’t go with me to my 10-year high school reunion next month? Since it was first mentioned, he...

Mother-in-law blues

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from TUESDAY, APR 6, 2004 She’s not a bad person, but I resent how she imposes herself on our lives. Dear Cary, I’ve noticed that often your advice doesn’t come in the form of a specific answer to a specific problem. The advice you give tends to come in the form of...

A lesser woman?

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from WEDNESDAY, JAN 29, 2003 The married man I’m sleeping with feels less guilty about it because I’m bisexual! Dear Cary, I’m a 30-year-old, intelligent, funny, independent, beautiful woman — or so I hear. I’m bisexual, but have been predominantly involved with...

My queer radical feminist peers are aghast that I want to marry

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from THURSDAY, JUN 8, 2006 I’m only 21 but I’m itching to get hitched! Dear Cary, For slightly over a year I have been in a serious relationship with the best human being I have ever met. He’s principled, loyal, wickedly funny and just the right kind of twisted. We...

Can therapy fix my parents?

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from THURSDAY, JAN 6, 2005 We’ve been in counseling for about six months now, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting them. Dear Cary, You and other sage advice givers often recommend that people seek therapy for their problems, especially when a couple or family needs...

I bought a house and now I’m crying every day

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button]  Cary’s classic column from FRIDAY, JAN 26, 2007 I think I made a big mistake. Home ownership isn’t what I thought it would be. Dear Cary: I am 35 years old, and we recently bought our first house. I have cried every day since. Our house is an older fixer-upper. All I could see when we...

My ex-fiancee is engaged to a jackass

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button]  Cary’s classic column from Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004 Should I tell her he’s cheating? Dear Cary, A friend, and ex-fiancée, of mine recently became engaged to someone she has known for only six months. They are planning a wedding only three months from today. When they were dating she...

Damaged goods

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from THURSDAY, MAR 11, 2004 I got engaged, then found out she is bipolar. How can I break it off with the least amount of hurt for both of us? Dear Cary, I am in my 30s and from a religious background where one only dates (limited to conversations over dinner or...

Social cravings

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from FRIDAY, DEC 20, 2002 I love my girlfriend, but she’s from an unambitious family. What’s an immigrant with a legacy wish supposed to do? Dear Cary, I am dating a wonderful young woman who makes me laugh. All the things I hate to do, like talking on the phone...

Free at last?

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Now that I’m finally free to leave my drag of a husband, he’s cleaning up his act. Should I leave him anyway?  Cary’s classic column from TUESDAY, JUN 10, 2003 Dear Cary, For over a decade I promised myself I would move out of the house the day my youngest went off to college. For years...

I can’t stand losing my beauty as I age!

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button]  I’m 43 and I’ve always been beautiful, and now I am in a state of shock at what’s happening!  Cary’s classic column from THURSDAY, NOV 15, 2007 Dear Cary, I am a 43-year-old woman. I have been married and soon will be again. I do not have children. Without sounding like an arrogant...

Demanding the big rock

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button]  She wants her fiance to spend three months’ salary on her engagement ring. Is that fair to the man?  Cary’s classic column from FRIDAY, JAN 28, 2005 Dear Cary, About a year and a half ago, my husband’s and my best friends broke up. She was unhappy and disappointed with him; he was...

My hip-to-waist ratio is nobody’s business but mine

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Please, women, don’t speculate on my hips’ suitability for childbearing!  Cary’s classic column from WEDNESDAY, JUL 9, 2008 Dear Cary, How do I handle comments from other women (yes, other women) about my body? I’m 5’5” and weigh 115. By the age of 55 I’d think that the days of dealing...

I’m in a tough, tough, really tough spot

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] I’m sick, got no job, dad just died, living with Mom, her mind is gone, I owe people money, what’s the point?  Cary’s classic column from WEDNESDAY, JAN 19, 2011 Dear Cary, I am 48, have hep C and Stage 2 cirrhosis of the liver. I have no job, missed too much work sick. Mom is all I...

Honesty or selfishness: You be the judge

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] My husband told me that he and my friend are attracted to each other — two days after my father died!  Cary’s classic column from  FRIDAY, JUL 18, 2003 Dear Cary, This past Tuesday, my father died. Although it was not unexpected, I loved him deeply and am dealing with a lot of...

Dragged into the ring

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Cary’s classic column from Thursday, THURSDAY, JAN 30, 2003 My boyfriend promised we’d be engaged by Christmas but we weren’t. Should I let it go or move out? Dear Cary, I have been dating my boyfriend for four years, and living with him for most of that time. We started (I think...

I got derailed somehow!

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button]  I feel like I’ve failed at everything. How do I get back on track?  Cary’s classic column from  WEDNESDAY, FEB 16, 2005 Dear Cary, I need help. I don’t know how my life got so badly off the rails, but it has. I have no idea what I can do to ever be happy again. I used to have a lot of...

If he really loved me, wouldn’t he beg me to go with him?

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  [button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button]  My boyfriend is leaving for a career opportunity.  Cary’s classic column from  TUESDAY, FEB 14, 2006 Dear Cary, My problem is, predictably, about love; selfish love vs. unconditional love. I don’t know whether to feel like a doormat or like a good person. I’ve been dating and...

Does time heal all wounds?

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] I have been through a lot of loss, but I can’t seem to get over losing her love.  Cary’s classic column from  WEDNESDAY, JUL 14, 2004 Dear Cary, At Christmas she left me, told me she had fallen out of love. It has been half a year; I have dated, moved on, accepted that she is never...

My aunt lent me money … with one condition

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] I desperately needed money so I agreed to her terms, but I find them chilling and bizarre  Cary’s classic column from  Sunday, Nov 21, 2010 Dear Cary, Almost 10 years ago my wealthy aunt loaned me some money. I have not seen or spoken to this aunt in many years now, nor have I repaid the...

My sister’s engaged to a jerk

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[button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] Do I boycott the wedding?  Cary’s classic column from  TUESDAY, DEC 28, 2010 Dear Cary, My sister, who is 34 to my 30, has been dating a man in his early 40s on and off for the past 10 years. To give you some background on his character, when she first met him, he was in his early 30s...

My husband wants kids but I like things the way they are

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  [button link=”mailto:[email protected]” newwindow=”yes”] Write for Advice[/button] We’ve got a great life going. Let’s not spoil it.  Cary’s classic column from  THURSDAY, APR 9, 2009 Dear Cary, I had a great childhood, full of country walks and art projects and picture books. My parents loved each other and they loved me and my siblings. I was not, despite all...

Will our words ever be heard again?

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We write and we write and we write on the Net, dispensing thoughts and advice. For what?  Cary’s classic column from  WEDNESDAY, FEB 4, 2009 Dear Cary, My problem is that we have a one-day cycle in our writing, in our lives. You read our problems; then people read our problems in your column. Then people read our responses, but then the sun comes up again, and all our writing goes down on the...

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