DEAR ABBY: Many years ago my wife conceived a child with an old boyfriend who had been after her for quite a while without my knowledge. I adopted the child after he left her.
I have tried to convince my wife to tell our daughter the truth for medical reasons, but she refuses. She feels if she tells our daughter the truth, she will be disgraced forever. What is your opinion? -- LOVES MY DAUGHTER IN WASHINGTON STATE
DEAR LOVES YOUR DAUGHTER: Your daughter should have been told the truth years ago -- and it is still not too late to do so. My concern is that she may eventually hear it from some other relative or a close family friend who assumes she already knows. These kinds of family secrets invariably have a way of slipping out, and better that your daughter hear the story from her mother than someone else.