Emily Yoffe Quotes

Don't underestimate the power of the nonplussed look and the shake of the head. Letting noxious words hang in the air can be very powerful.

Never loan money to friends or family that you are not able to write off entirely.

Sometimes people have a wild past because they have an essentially wild nature, and that's how they plan to go through life. Sometimes such people settle into happy monogamy, and can be content there because they never have to wonder, "What did I miss?"

Children need adult men in their lives.

I'm not a big advocate of living together before marriage. It can be the right thing, but it can also leave two people stuck together who haven't figured out what they really want out of the relationship.

Accept the fact that life presents us with opportunities to find more than one "one," and that you have learned a mighty life lesson when the next one comes along.

I do feel haunted by some of the letters and the suffering people have endured. But I keep in mind that the people who write to me know that I am a journalist and an on-line advice columnist, not a social service professional.

My inbox [showed me] how much pain there is in the world. I appreciated hearing from people, but it was hard to know I couldn't do anything.

The human heart is a mysterious and sometimes dark place.

Insecurity is a toxin and confidence is a tonic, so make the choice not to dwell on the worst possible case.

As far as types preferring other types, people of the same type can understand each others' perspective very well, but also drive each other crazy because they see their flaws magnified.

I try to direct people in distress to the right resources, where they can get comprehensive help. I've heard from many people that simply putting down in a letter what is going on in their lives is therapeutic in and of itself.

The world's full of victims and the world's full of terrible perpetrators and I want them identified and caught.

I have people close to me who ask my advice just as I ask theirs.

I've never gotten a letter where I thought I knew the person. But I have heard from people who think they know the letter writer.

As Winston Churchill said, "Dogs look up to you, Cats look down on you." It's just that I discovered that being looked at from both of those perspectives is where I want to be.

An alcoholic 47-year-old woman with teenagers who thinks a guy in his mid-20s is a good prospect as a partner definitely has some judgment and character flaws.

Each week I am forced to revise my original opinion that Facebook is a great innovation for keeping people in touch, to believing that it is merely a canvas for members to act out strange, unresolved conflicts and desires.

When you're dealing with an in-law violation, I think the first line of defense is for the blood relation to have a serious talk.

When my daughter left for college, I lost my in-house consultant to youth culture. There's just stuff I don't get. And there's something kind of pathetic about someone my age trying to pretend she gets it, so I don't try to pretend.

You can't get a guarantee from everyone who appears in personal photographs that they will forever remain warm presences in one's life or sweet memories.

If you think a caregiver has an active substance abuse problem, that person should never be entrusted with your child.

Not many people could juggle graduate school and two jobs.

I have this wonderful capacity just to walk away from my mistakes and not dwell on them.

I think it's helpful for kids to know that their parents weren't perfect, that they messed up and learned from their mistakes. So be open about some of your own struggles or express gratitude that your kids are taking advantage of the opportunities they have instead of squandering many of them, the way you did.

I hate a messy kitchen and my more casual husband has come to recognize it's more pleasant for him to clean up after himself rather than deal with me hating a messy kitchen.

I'm not suffering from some division of personality.

Polygamy has an ancient history and is legal in many parts of the world. I find the rules of polygamy to be damaging and it's potentially dangerous to young girls and terrible for "excess" boys. But polyamory is supposed to be a more equal arrangement among agreeing adults.

When you have a life milestone happen, it's good to step back and reassess the things you thought you knew about yourself.

Obama's major accomplishment is himself. This can be an effective argument to make to undecided voters and something Obama has to artfully address.