DEAR HARRIETTE: My younger brother and I are 18 months apart. We have always been close. Lately, he has been acting a little out of character. I think he is having a midlife crisis. He recently bought a new car that was way out of his budget, and he is now thinking about quitting his job. He has been working at the same company for 15 years. I'm not sure why he would quit or what could be sparking these changes. Do you have any idea of how I can help him? Do I intervene to prevent him from messing up his life? -- Midlife Crisis, Sarasota, Florida
DEAR MIDLIFE CRISIS: Invite your brother to get together. Then express your concerns. Ask him what’s going on. Do your best to get him to open up. You want to learn what’s in his head, so you have to resist talking too much. Hear him out. Challenge him on ideas that you do not think are sound. This includes quitting a job without a plan in place. Find out what happened that precipitated the idea. Suggest that he savor the moment, take a vacation and be present for what’s next. Recommend that he give himself a 90-day waiting period to be sure that he feels the same and has gotten his life in order before resigning.