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This is just a letter of appreciation to Lynn Johnston.

Your strip means more to me than you can ever imagine. I read it for the first time when I was twelve, when my family was living in Vancouver, and it has been, by all means, my favorite ever since.
I don't know what attracts other people to your strip, but I like it because the lives of the Pattersons are what i dream, and have always dreamt of living. People might say they like your strip because they can 'relate', it's 'their lives', but i would say that people who do not have happy, secure families, would be all the more fascinated.
Home for me never meant 'shelter', and I have sworn to myself that I will give my children what I never had, a home full of love and laughter, a family like the Pattersons.
I'm a medical student, and I have a lot of doctors, past and present, whom I can set as models for what I hope to become. Your strip inspires a more important dream: what I can hope to come home to.

Shania A., India

Dear Shania, thanks for your letter. I'm so glad you're going to be a doctor. With your warmth and positive outlook, you'll be a wonderful gift to any community! Good luck. Sincerely, Lynn.

I grew up with For Better or For Worse and you and the strip have been a great inspiration to me as a cartoonist. I own every FBOFW collection available and I flip through them almost every day.

Yet ever since Anthony returned to the strip after he and Liz broke up during university, I have found it increasingly difficult to enjoy the storyline. I am going to try to explain exactly why.

When Anthony told Liz about his engagement to Therese, he was clearly still in love with Liz. Yet he went through with the marriage anyway, and put on a facade to his wife, pretending that he didn't love Liz even though it was obvious that he did. Then, still married, he begged Liz to wait for him. I found this whole thing to be in extremely poor taste--regardless of how "evil" Therese was, it was clear that she was not Anthony's first choice even before the actual wedding. Anthony showed no respect for her or his marriage vows by obviously pining for another woman throughout the marriage. In fact, it was LIZ, not Anthony, who pointed out that she and Anthony needed to consider Therese's feelings.

Now, we all make mistakes. But there has been no acknowledgment in the strip that Anthony made any mistakes. The readers, instead, have been bombarded with commentary from the strip's characters about how wonderful Anthony is. Throughout the history of FBOFW, characters have been called out when they have done something wrong, and they are forced to acknowledge their mistakes and learn from them. Anthony is the only character who had not been called out on his mistakes.

Hearing from Liz's parents about how smart, reliable, and honest Anthony supposedly is is not enough to make him appealing. His actions were not honest. Marrying someone while more in love with someone else is not honest. Going behind your wife's back to make sure your former sweetheart will be waiting to catch you is not honest. Readers remember these events, and until Anthony admits that what he did was wrong, other things like him bragging about how well he takes care of his daughter are not enough to make up for it.

If the mistakes that Anthony made were acknowledged in the strip, it would make the Liz/Anthony love story much more appealing. Right now, I'm feeling that my intelligence as a reader is being insulted. Anthony has done things that clearly go against the qualities of "reliable", "honest", and "steady", but I'm expected to believe that he is those things.

Why did Liz call herself a "total idiot" for simply asking Anthony to Shawna-Marie's wedding, but Anthony has not been shown feeling even slightly guilty about how he handled his marriage?

Randi S, Winnipeg

Good! I like your comments. They have real merit. Sincerely, Lynn

I fell in love with cartoons when I was a child and they are part of my daily "first thing in the morning" routine! When I am chuckling over the funny pages, my kids roll their eyes and say "Mom's reading the comics again!". I love the Patterson family - I feel like I truly know these people! And I love the connection this strip gives me with a whole world of people I have never met.

One question - will you ever finish up the back story of Jeremy Jones? He continues to appear in April's life from time to time and I have always wanted to see him turn out for the better!

Thanks for writing this strip and making a difference in people's lives!

Lisa H, Atlanta GA

The back of the Jeremy Jones story won't be finished in THIS part of the strip, but in its new format, we'll have opportunities to expand on some of the interwoven storylines. The web will likely be the place you'll find those additions. Thanks for asking. Sincerely, Lynn

The Pattersons' life is a parallel universe to my own, with overlaps, folds and wrinkles in the time-space continuum.
Sometimes I read to see what's ahead in my life, (retirement, downsizing now that the oldest kids are out;) sometimes I need affirmation (even if my kid makes me nuts, that's survivable, ...maybe;) sometimes I read to get a teen's perspective on life (to remember what my youngest is going through;) but always I read FBorFW.
It sums up a philosophy of life, and offers a method of survival.
Elly, I have known you for years, decades, and enjoyed your company so very much.

Jeannette, Wisconsin

Thanks! It's a story that's somewhat like my own, and through it, I've discovered how many other lives and families have been like mine!