Dear Annie: I have a dear friend from high school who I've never lost touch with. We have the kind of friendship where it doesn't matter if we haven't talked for months; she is there to listen and stand up for me. As we've grown older, our lives have changed. She has gotten married, and I have a long-term partner. After much difficult effort, she got pregnant and finally had a daughter whom the whole family dotes on. The problem comes with how she treats her stepsons. She is an incredibly harsh disciplinarian with them, even for silly things or complete accidents. Her husband intercedes on their behalf in the moment, but he does nothing to try to get her to change this behavior, which I feel is emotionally abusive.Updated: Tue Jul 05, 2022