ArcaMax

Q. I read your column, and I find it fascinating that you think that people who have volatile backgrounds can get along. My ex was a very violent person. We all had the bruises to prove it. I finally left three years ago and didn’t look back. They never see the kids, and to think I should reach out for the sake of the children is outside of my...Read more

Does anyone remember when you made a purchase, went to a doctor or took your car in for a repair and weren't asked for a review? We are in the throes of review mania.

I recently visited a new dentist. Two hours after I left his office, a text arrived asking for a review. I hesitated. What if I inadvertently posted something he took the wrong ...Read more

The purpose of Juliana Hastings’ book, "I’ll Have a Double: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Alcohol and Breast Cancer" is to raise awareness and share what she has learned during her own breast cancer journey.

While this book is a memoir of Juliana’s experience, it is also a guide for patients. She offers a wide array of helpful tips...Read more

“Would you like a ticket or would you like to talk?”

Vincent Dodd, from decades as a nurse helping terminally ill patients and their families and then as a law enforcement officer, knows that solutions to crises are often found well below the surface.

So his tendency, and the visual unusuality, to invite conversation rather than issue a ...Read more

Paula Nieto-Morales recalls the puzzled looks on her parents' faces when she told them she wanted to become a neonatologist. She was 5 years old.

"I was so little! And they asked, 'Where did you learn that word?'" said Nieto-Morales, who was born and raised in Colombia.

She likely picked it up while watching television, mostly nature and ...Read more

'HERE'

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some suggestive material, brief strong language and smoking.

What it’s about: An innovative domestic drama looking at one house and one place from a single point of view over many hundreds of years.

The kid attractor factor: Not much — this is more of an adult drama.

Good lessons/bad lessons: ...Read more

When I was a little girl taking piano lessons, we lived in an old house with a dark, scary basement where mice frequently gathered and hosted parties.

Sometimes, mice ventured upstairs and hid behind the piano. When I began practicing, they would shoot out due to the horrible off-key sounds piercing their teeny, tiny, perfect-pitch sensitive ...Read more

Maybe I’m prejudiced. But isn’t that the right of anyone evaluating books? It’s about what you like. Or don’t.

In the case of author Jean Hanff Korelitz, I’m indeed prejudiced. That’s because "The Plot," her ingenious thriller in which a bestselling book becomes a matter of life or death, is one of my favorite reads of all time.

...Read more

The evidence surrounding physical activity is clear: It's critical to good health, helping to ward off obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and even dementia. Federal guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week, but stress that any movement is better than none at all.

What's less clear is what needs to...Read more

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? Love a good historical mystery? Pirates and hidden treasure? Swoon-worthy southern cuisine? Find your heart’s desires in "The Lafitte Affair" by Norman Woolworth.

Curmudgeonly antiques dealer Bruneau Ignatius Abellard is finishing his last bite of Eggs Sardou (poached eggs, spinach and artichokes...Read more

With more than 1,500 posts, “#mucinexdpregnancy” has become one of TikTok’s latest fads. To explain why the cough medicine trended as a fertility booster, OB-GYN Dr. Jessica Shepherd jumped online with “Good Morning America.”

“The reason why people think that this is going to be a way that’s going to help increase chances of ...Read more

Q. Halloween is always a problem. I want the kids to be with me and their dad wants them to be with him. I keep trying to tell him that the kids want to trick-or-treat with their friends, not in a neighborhood 30 minutes away, but he says they have friends near him, too. It’s so frustrating! Their dad never listens to me. What’s good ex-...Read more

'VENOM: THE LAST DANCE'

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language.

What it’s about: The third spin on the dance floor for Eddie Brock and his sassy symbiote sidekick sees them at Area 51 battling other aliens.

The kid attractor factor: It's a monster movie comic book character — some ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Every week, Caitlin Scuttio stops by Target and piles her cart with pureed food pouches for her 4-year-old and twin 18-month-olds sons.

In goes a 24-pack of unsweetened applesauce. Then a 24-pack of the fruit and veggie blend. And finally, the yogurt pouches for her oldest son's breakfast. "He'd eat six apple sauce pouches a day ...Read more

Q. My bonus daughter and I get along very well and many people who meet us just assume I am her mother. I believe I should always support her mother, so I am quick to correct the assumption. Even though she has never said anything, I can tell by my bonus daughter’s expression that she is disappointed by my clarification. Is it necessary to ...Read more