One of my favorite niche internet interests is reading advice columns. Long before I was old enough to actually need to worry about mortgages or in-laws or promotions, I’ve been fascinated by these windows into human  nature and the doubts, limitations, and contradictions we all seem to contain. Admittedly, part of this interest is probably digital rubbernecking– one reader’s salacious story is another person’s great pain– but I think there’s also something about reading these columns that feels like it’s tapping into something deeper: a recognition of our shared humanity and the common struggles that unite us all across countries, barriers, and identities. Whether you read these columns to gain perspective on other people’s problems (or your own) or to feel a sigh of relief that you aren’t facing similar concerns, advice columns have wisdom to offer us all.

Want to know more? Check out this list of recommended books by advice columnists.

In Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb, podcaster and therapy advice columnist for The Atlantic and The New York Times, takes readers through her own therapy journey after crisis– and explores how this journey impacts her work with her patients. Warm, frank, and wise, Gottlieb explores her life as both a clinician and patient and the core truths, desires, hopes, and fears that we all share.

Offering advice on everything from micromanaging bosses to credit-stealing colleagues to the dreaded shared breakroom fridge, Alison Green– creator of the popular Ask a Manager blog and New York magazine’s work-advice columnist– has just about seen it all. Ask a Manager provides a witty, practical guide on 200+ different work scenarios, helping new and veteran employees navigate difficult professional conversations and improve their work lives.

Since 2010, best-selling author Cheryl Strayed has offered thousands of advice-seekers humor, insight, and compassion as Dear Sugar: initially at The Rumpus as an online advice columnist, later through her hit podcast with Steve Almond, Dear Sugars, and now through her popular Substack. Tiny Beautiful Things collects the best of Dear Sugar in one volume, bringing her wisdom to many more readers. Can’t get enough Dear Sugar? Tiny Beautiful Things was also adapted into an acclaimed Hulu miniseries.

With her warm, witty insights, The Sunday Times’ (UK) resident agony aunt, Dolly Alderton, has been described as “Nora Ephron for the millennial generation.” Dear Dolly pulls together a compilation of her best columns and thoughtful advice to readers the world over, helping them navigate issues with love, sex, and relationships.