DEAR ABBY

but can't have, and he won't adopt).

I feel like I'm wasting my life. I'm 43. I had to have emergency surgery and almost didn't make it, and he resented me for it. Why can't I leave him? Why am I so scared? I have no other family. — WASTING AWAY IN THE SOUTH

DEAR WASTING AWAY: You said it yourself: You are scared to live on your own. Some people are afraid of the unknown, and you appear to