Dear Abby
DEAR ABBY: I live in a very small town. My husband died a year ago and, since then, I have felt like some of these people are angry with me. Six months after he died, I had what my therapist called a “nervous breakdown.” I know I wasn’t myself for some time, and I can’t remember much of what I did or said. I have been told I said things to close friends that were unkind and even swore at them. This happened over, maybe, a threeday period.
My friends won’t tell me what I said. I belong to a card club with these women, and I guess I swore at them and said or did some things that were awful. I haven’t been able to express my sorrow for it. I have tried, but no one will tell me what happened. They tell other people, and those people haven’t been friendly since then, either. I was kicked out of the club and told I would not be allowed back in. Can you give me some idea of what I can do to make my friends want to be with me again? I’m miserable and need help. – OUTCAST IN IOWA DEAR OUTCAST: I am sure you are miserable. The women in that social group turned their backs on you. Were any of them ever told that you had a psychological break after your husband died and you were under the care of a psychotherapist? If they knew and cannot understand and forgive your outburst, shame on them.
