What are "Dear Abby" letters?

"Dear Abby" letters are written by readers of the "Dear Abby" advice column started by Pauline Phillips under the name Abigail Van Buren. As of 2014, the advice column continues and has officially been written by Phillips's daughter, Jeanne Phillips, since 2002. The column was first published in 1956.

The advice column offered no-nonsense advice to readers facing challenges with romantic, personal and life struggles. Pauline Phillips died in 2013 at the age of 94. Her twin sister, Esther Lederer, was the author of her own advice column, which was written under the pen name Ann Landers. Lederer died in 2002.