Dear Therapist: Should My Parents Get Divorced?
I’ve known that my parents haven’t gotten along. They are polar opposites.
Editor’s Note: Every Monday, Lori Gottlieb answers questions from readers about their problems, big and small. Have a question? Email her at dear.therapist@theatlantic.com.
Dear Therapist,
For quite some time, I’ve known that my parents haven’t gotten along. They are polar opposites: My father is mild-mannered to the point of reticence; my mother is mercurial and can go from playful and loving to angry in a matter of minutes. Often, when they fought in the past, I played mediator even though I was a teenager. After I left for college, the fights became bigger and more serious.
Now my mother seems to resent my father’s very existence. My father has retreated from her and the rest of us. I have only really seen him happy when my mother
