Recently, my dad had a falling out with a long-time friend. He’s not entirely sure what caused it, but he suspects that a comment he made one morning over breakfast hurt his friend’s feelings. Dad tried for several weeks to get in touch with his...

When I was young, I was the “peacemaker” among my friends. It was a constant obsession of mine to make sure I was at peace with everyone and everyone with each other. I hated for there to be any conflict or for anyone to be...