Dear Ann Landers,
My husband who is forty-one has had a serious liver problem for over seven years. This last year it has become much worse. The doctor told Jack in 1959 that he must give up alcohol if he wants to live. I have threatened to leave him, I've cried, and even gotten down on my knees and begged him to leave liquor alone, but I might as well talk to the lamppost. Two weeks ago, Jack had an acute attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. I thought surely it would kill him or cure him. Lord knows how he pulled through. Jack has been home from the hospital three days and is feeling much better. Tonight before supper he fixed himself a Martini. Now he's on his fourth and doesn't want to eat at all. Why would a man do this when his doctor has told him it adds up to suicide? -Despondent Wife

Dear Wife,
Because he is an alcoholic. And alcoholics want to kill themselves, but they'd rather use a bottle than a gun. Dear Ann: Without realizing it, you are educating a great many people-even those who insist at the top of their lungs that they are reading you for laughs. Will you please say a few words about menopause? I am forty-seven years old. (Every-one who writes to you says, "I look younger." Well, not me. I look older.) For the past two years, I've had hot flashes and sinking spells. During supper, I will say, "Joe, open the window. I'm burning up." Twenty minutes later, I'll say, "Joe, close the window. I'm freezing." He tells me I am imagining things and that I am off my rocker. Will you please print in your column that this is part of the menopause?-28 Years Of Service Dear 28: Hot flashes are indeed a part of the menopause. An enlightened and sympathetic husband can do a great deal to help a woman over this difficult time of her life. A visit with a doctor can also help. Medication is now available so that women don't have to suffer as their mothers did thirty years ago. I get a lot of letters like this one from another menopausal lady: