Dear Michelle, My Dad hates my Mom. He tells me that she is a liar and that I should not trust her. Of course, they are divorced but they have "joint custody"  . What a joke! I am 15, my brother is nine, and we have a life of hell, frankly. We live one week on and one week off. This was the brilliant idea of both of my parents, which was fair to them but ruining my life. I cannot get away from his voice and his putting my mom down. Sometimes I think about running away.                                                          A Hopeless Ant  Dear Hopeless Ant, First, thank you for trusting me with your problem. If all you said is correct, then there are several things that you can and should do to help yourself, your brother, and oddly enough, your parents. You need a family counselor. Such a person could listen to each family member alone and then meet together to talk about the situation. If refused, you need to talk to a counselor in your school. You need to be heard, and you need an adult who will listen. A school counselor can organize a meeting with your parents. Perhaps you need to write to your mother. Writing things down allows people to go over it more than one time. I cannot imagine that she will stand passively by and do nothing at all to help once she reads how you feel. Your father needs a letter as well. He may not realize the destructive effect that it has on his children. Lastly, have a plan in mind when all else fails that is not self-destructive. Life passes very quickly, sweetheart, and you will grow up and have your own life. Until then, you need to keep yourself safe. Never doubt that it will get better. Write back and let me know how everything is going.                                                                                                                                                                                        Michelle The Hopeless Ant hated his father because   _  .
his father always told a lie his father wasn't friendly to his mother his father divorced his mother the Hopeless Ant couldn't stay with his parents