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Thank you so much for the story arcs involving Shannon and bullying. As a School Social Worker, I serve students with challenges like Shannon's and I've shared the comics with my students to reassure them that they aren't the only ones facing these challenges and the gentle wisdom shared in the strips touches their hearts and lets them know that they are ok and its the bully that needs to "grow up." I've also enjoyed the strips about Liz and her classroom. Throughout the years, I've clipped a strip and taken it to the teachers' lounge or delivered it to a particular teacher who I feel would have their day made by seeing your fine work! Thanks so much for being an important part of my morning routine!

Susan, Edmore, MI, USA

Looking at today's (8/2) strip.I like it that Lynn has drawn John a little on the chubby side. Being slightly overweight myself I can relate to April's little poking of her father's stomach. Thank you Lynn for making at least one of the Pattersons a little fat.

Andrew K, Adelaide, Australia

Thank you to Lynn & Everyone at FBORW. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to read it daily. I'm originally from California & after I moved to Oz I found your site & am 100% addicted! Right now I am going through an extremely tough time & Your site helps to keep a smile on my dial. Thank you!!

Ann S., Melbourne Australia

I LOVE For Better or for Worse!! I've been a fan since its inception. I'm a night owl so when it hits midnight, I click on fborfw.com(bookmarked of course) so I can get the next day's latest of the daily strip fix. I think of the Pattersons as my neighbors and friends. I love them all dearly. Thank you for making my night every night before I go to bed.

Jen, San Francisco

I've been following this strip for many years. I'm particularly empathetic with April, because I am also a late baby. For quite a while, I was unable to understand why so many readers thought April was overreacting to events in the household. Now I think I get it. April's family has actually been preparing her for adulthood.

She had to give up her room and the furniture she'd paid for when Mike and his family moved in. This should serve as a warning to her that material possessions can be lost at any time. Elly reprimanded her for not tidying up the boxes of stuff Deanna's mom had left in the basement. Not fair, but in life, a lot of things aren't fair, and employers often blame workers for things that are beyond their control. Liz has also been a good example to April: her inability to control her emotions when things don' go her way may very well have been an inspiration to April. Life does not always go the way one wants it to, and hopefully, April will learn to roll with the punches, unlike her sister.

Finally, Elly and John's indifference to April's living conditions, and their plans to rent out the basement as soon as she leaves for university, may seem cold to the casual observer. But again, look at Liz. She spent every summer during university with her family, as well as summers off from her teaching job, and even stayed on after her brother and his family moved back in out of necessity. Imagine if April's parents coddled her that way. She'd never learn to be independent. Hopefully, April will learn to be self-sufficient, and will not be a drain on her parents' resources. After all, John and Elly are not getting any younger, and they have a right to enjoy their retirement. Life is rough, and it's good that April is learning that her family will not always be there for her.

"Ariel"

April didn't actually give up her furniture - John and Elly just left most of their own for Mike and Dee.

Seldom have I seen a comic strip that hits home on almost every social and moral issue. Actually it should be requird reading in K-12 schools. My refrigerator door is never empty of FBorFW panels.
Elly's views on life are exactely like my own and she is not afraid to inject her wisdom in those strips.
Eventually I discovered some spooky parallels!
The strip of Elizabeth's years in northern Canada, teachng, held me spellbound because of my love for the North Country and the Indians. It seems I can never learn enough about them. Meeting my mother's Chippiwa friends in Ely Minnesota (where she was born) when I was young was indeed almost a spiritual experience for me.

Then....there is the music parallel.
Yours is a musical family...
Mine is a musical family.
You play autoharp...
I play autoharp, baritone uke and spoons.
I play in a group called Never Too Late. There are 7 of us all over the age 0f 70 who play hammerd dulcimer, guitars, lap dulcimar, mandolin, harmonica, banjo and of coarse autoharps...
much like your dad and his "group".
The mandolin player Bob and I sing lovely harmonies...like your gals.
I too draw and dabble in pen & ink artwork...like yourself.
Raising a family of good citizens has been our gift to this world....as Elly and John have done.
Thanks for reading this VERY long letter.
But I had to tell you how much I love this comic strip...actually a Guide To Living.
Oh, by the way...another parallel.
My husbands name is Jim.....
Thanks for sharing "Percolated Thoughts" with me Lynn.
Affectionately....

Mary Ann N, Wisconsin

I am the narrator for the "World Famous Lipizzaner Stallion Show" and, though my home is in Las Vegas, I am on tour worldwide, 11 months a year. Your characters and stories are like a daily visit with old friends. Thank you for doing this strip. Thank you for the dignity and support with which you have written differently abled, gay and otherwise challenged characters. You're a treasure.

Troy T, Las Vegas

My mother is 88, in a wheel chair and uses a magnifying glass to read, but the first thing I have to do when I bring her coffee and the newspaper every morning is to open the paper and read her your strip. It is the only reason she continues to get the newspaper. She loved Farley! And she is happy to see Liz & Anthony getting together.

Barbara G, New Jersey

I just wanted everyone to know that I lost my mom about a month ago and I have been reading back through her favorite comic strip, For Better or For Worse, back to the time when Elly's mom died. It is a real comfort to me to have those specific strips to read and to remember my mom by. Thank you Lynn, they mean a lot.

Samantha, Tallahassee

The majority of your characters are the kind of people we all WISH we were, especially when dealing with those few characters you create who more closely resemble the people we often are instead. Your strip is reality-PLUS; life as it should be. It inspires. Somewhere, someone has read a strip with Mira Sobinski in it, seen an embarrassing reflection of herself, and vowed to change. Perhaps a man has read a strip with a tender moment between John and Liz, and gone to hug his own daughter. Who hasn't at some point wished she was as good a mother as Ellie?
FBorFW goes beyond just morning entertainment; it becomes the mirror by which we measure ourselves. What a lofty achievement for a simple comic strip!

LESLI, Ohio

Thank you so much for the letters. I enjoy them so much. I love reading Mike's letters; this allows us to see his flair for writing and his excellent, descriptive style. And reading Deanna's letters are like sitting down in a very calm and peaceful place and getting some wise advice from a good friend! I am impressed at how you are able to assume a variety of writing styles in these letters. Thank you!

Virginia A, Georgia