‘I Can’t Stand My Husband’s Gross, Messy Family’

Dear Emily,

My husband and I have been married for five years. His father passed away when he was 52, taken by fast-moving cancer, and his family never dealt with that trauma. Instead, they all took on different roles the patriarch had played, and my husband was the designated peacekeeper and court jester.

When I came along, they absorbed me like a sponge because I had no family. I was overjoyed to be around laughter and warmth. But then I started to notice things that made me uncomfortable...