Is it just me, or does Carolyn Hax seem to take tons of time off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of think she needs to retire or pass the torch. I remember when she started and it was like getting advice from a friend or big sister/cousin. Now it’s like you’re getting advice from your mother or grandmother.

Which is often the best advice you can get, believe it or not. I am clearly biased at my age but I've been reading Hax for decades and also lived through whatever age you are and unless your mother and grandmother are extremely screwed up and dysfunctional you might want to give their wisdom and expertise a little more respect.

I think there’s grace to recognizing when your many years of experience, while valuable, simply isn’t as relevant to modern issues. Validating the next generation’s perspective is a big benefit, too.

I hope she gets the time and space for some reflection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of think she needs to retire or pass the torch. I remember when she started and it was like getting advice from a friend or big sister/cousin. Now it’s like you’re getting advice from your mother or grandmother.

Which is often the best advice you can get, believe it or not. I am clearly biased at my age but I've been reading Hax for decades and also lived through whatever age you are and unless your mother and grandmother are extremely screwed up and dysfunctional you might want to give their wisdom and expertise a little more respect.

I think there’s grace to recognizing when your many years of experience, while valuable, simply isn’t as relevant to modern issues. Validating the next generation’s perspective is a big benefit, too.

I hope she gets the time and space for some reflection.

Is there a particular issue/question that you reference when you say she's out of touch? I actually really disliked her columns when she hit popularity about ~20 years. I thought sheher responses reflected a lot of arrogance. So I stopped reading her. Every now and again, someone will reference a recent column and I will take a look. I think she's mellowed out a lot with time, and I better appreciate her advic enow.

[Anonymous]

People read newspaper columns still?

[Anonymous]

I’m all for everyone in this country taking more vacation. Everyone I know who takes 4+ weeks a year is happier, healthier and more fun. I’m glad Carolyn takes time off. I’m very sorry about her father.

[Anonymous]

She said in her live chat a couple weeks ago that there would be a 2 week gap in her column b/c of her dads death. For her planned vacations, I don't understand why she can't do 5 extra Qs in advance of her trip, but whatever its not like I remember the Qs from 2009.

I read a ton of advice columns and I do think she's by far the best and its gotten better over the decades. I'm sure she will be pushed to pass the torch when she doesn't have a huge following but I'm willing to bet she's the most read advice columnist there is. She's answered a few of my questions over the years and her advice is generally less what to do for a specific situation and more how to think about the situation in a way that can be applied to other situations as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of think she needs to retire or pass the torch. I remember when she started and it was like getting advice from a friend or big sister/cousin. Now it’s like you’re getting advice from your mother or grandmother.

Which is often the best advice you can get, believe it or not. I am clearly biased at my age but I've been reading Hax for decades and also lived through whatever age you are and unless your mother and grandmother are extremely screwed up and dysfunctional you might want to give their wisdom and expertise a little more respect.

I think there’s grace to recognizing when your many years of experience, while valuable, simply isn’t as relevant to modern issues. Validating the next generation’s perspective is a big benefit, too.

I hope she gets the time and space for some reflection.

She has talked extensively how her advice has changed. She (like most young people) was a very black and white thinker in her earlier years. She (like most people that are more middle aged) are now able to take a much more nuanced approach to life. That wisdom is so important to "modern issues".

[Anonymous]

She's syndicated folks. Like Ann Landers. It's not like you are getting a real local person to comment.

[Anonymous]

She used to be the 20something advice columnist for the Express. Now she seems to just repeat stuff and most of the time I think her columns are fake.

[Anonymous]

I love that her ex boyfriend does the illustrations. Or used to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of think she needs to retire or pass the torch. I remember when she started and it was like getting advice from a friend or big sister/cousin. Now it’s like you’re getting advice from your mother or grandmother.

Which is often the best advice you can get, believe it or not. I am clearly biased at my age but I've been reading Hax for decades and also lived through whatever age you are and unless your mother and grandmother are extremely screwed up and dysfunctional you might want to give their wisdom and expertise a little more respect.

I think there’s grace to recognizing when your many years of experience, while valuable, simply isn’t as relevant to modern issues. Validating the next generation’s perspective is a big benefit, too.

I hope she gets the time and space for some reflection.

Issues change but people don't, and her column is about relationships. Taking the attitude that your mother's and grandmother's experience isn't "relevant" to your life is a good way to make the same mistakes they did and not learn from the past.

[Anonymous]

GMAFB. Every woman/man should be so lucky to get to a place in their careers where they can negotiate boundaries that let them put their families first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's syndicated folks. Like Ann Landers. It's not like you are getting a real local person to comment.

What? She is a real person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's fine, but I'd rather hear more different voices.

But as she gets older, they need a new junior advice columnist for the young readers.

They’ve been trying out several new, younger advice columnists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love that her ex boyfriend does the illustrations. Or used to.

Ex-husband

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her Dad died. Give her a break, sheesh.

Um, ok. If my dad dies I get 3 days of bereavement leave. Of course I could take more time off and probably would to deal with his stuff, but most people don’t get/take extended leave for a parent’s death.