Dear Prudence is Slate’s advice column. Submit questions here .

Dear Prudence,

My husband’s father passed away two weeks ago. We are all very distraught, but my husband is facing a horrifying prospect. His mother wants him to deliver the eulogy, and my husband has a terrible fear of public speaking. It’s so severe that the last time he had to give a speech he literally shit his pants. Luckily, he had planned ahead and wore an adult diaper as a fail-safe, but obviously this is a situation we would not like to repeat. He says he wants to do this for his dad, but is terrified at the prospect of it happening again. The funeral is in three weeks. What can we do to help him overcome his crippling anxiety over speaking in public?

—Funeral Freakout

Dear Freakout,

This is not the time

See Full Page