Dear Prudence,
I have an old friend who has dated a string of sexist, alcoholic, and sometimes abusive men. I love her dearly, but she will never leave a relationship, no matter how toxic or abusive. While I must respect her choices as an adult, it pains me to see how her they have impacted her children. Throughout the years, I have dropped out of the picture when I could no longer take the chaos that is her daily life. She has been very hurt by these absences, because she feels a friend should be there no matter what. I see things differently: She is an alcoholic who loves toxic environments and refuses all attempts at help. After some time, I decided to break things off with her. In the fallout, she told our mutual friends that I am a terrible friend. I said nothing. Now I can tell that she wants to reconnect. I know that she is lonely and misses me. I miss her as well, but our lives are in very different places. I don’t know how frank I can be with her without completely hurting her feelings. What should I do?