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My heart is breaking- there was no local news coverage that this new format was taking effect! I have to find out this way? I have been reading FBOFW my whole life (I am 25), it's the first thing I do every day. I would feel more comfortable with an end to the story vs the characters never aging. That is creepy- the reason I love FBOFW is because of the evolution.

Halli, Manhattan NY

Everyone else has expressed her-/himself most eloquently thus far. But, I feel compelled to add that, even though I knew that FBoFW was going to undergo a change and eventually a "freeze," the fact that the change was going to affect me just as much as any personal loss, through a move or a death, has, just now, begun to hit home!

As I read all of the other comments, to date, tears kept welling up in my eyes. A sign of old age? Or, a sign of a very tight bond? I hope the latter!

Whenever I retired from teaching, I knew that I had affected my many students both positively and negatively. However, no matter in which way I had left my mark, the time had come to move on because of a variety of changes in my personal life. That awareness, allows me to fully understand Lynn's decision to retire.

After two years of full-retirement, I've found that love it! I'm sure Lynn will as well, if not moreso. I'm also sure that bringing an end to over 30 years of dedication to any task will leave a hole in her heart, just as, no doubt, it is going to leave a hole in the hearts and souls of her many readers.

God Bless you, Lynn. Thank you for so many wonderful years with the Patterson family, and may you, personally, enjoy a very long and very healthy retirement!

Charlie, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Hybrid=Boring

Frank, Texas

I know that you must get frustrated by all the people who insist on insulting your strip, but I need to have my say. Why are all the women in the strip (April and Therese excluded) acting like meek housewifes from the 1900s? What has happened to feminism? Elizabeth pines over men who treat her like dirt and eventually falls for one because he's too boring to ever consider dumping her, Elly is, well, Elly, and Deanna has turned into Perfect Mom who thinks about nothing but her children and pampering her husband. Maybe that was how things worked 30 years ago, but women nowadays can have proper careers that DON'T involve teaching and bookstores. I empathize greatly with April and Therese, the only women in the strip who aren't falling over themselves for the men in their life and want careers that don't involve sitting at home, teaching, or bookstores, and congratulate them both. And besides, you can't try to blame a failed relationship on a woman with PDD - first of all, it takes two, and secondly, why did Anthony force her into having a baby in the first place? I think he's a total creep, and that even bland Elizabeth could do better. Impress me, Lynn. Turn the strip around before all your fans turn against you.

Alanna, Alberta

I have only been reading the letters from the Pattersons about a year but am so sorry that they won't be continued after September. My children are the same ages as Elly's and I feel as though we have grown through motherhood and grandmotherhood together. Lynn, thanks for making this a story I can relate to. Good luck in your future endeavors. I shall miss the updates to the letters and the updated storylines but know that you must be getting tired. As I read Elly's letter today, I started to cry. My friend is moving away and I am truly sorry.

Margaret D, Arlington VA

Lynn....
I want to thank you for bringing your family into my home for all these years. You are a remarkable woman, whom I admire. I feel as though your family is part of mine. I have laughed and cried reading your daily strip....realizing that we have all the same things in common. I truly understand your not wanting to let go of your Dad.....for I too, didn't want to lose my Dad and become an orphan!
Having one parent still permits us to be that 'child' and have that bit of security and innocence of childhood!
I am deeply greatful to you for your sensitivity, creative ability and sense of humor.
You are number ONE in my book!

Hester S, Parlin, N.J. USA

I have read your strip ever since The Washington Post started carrying it. If I miss a day while traveling, etc, I go online to see what I missed. I have laughed and cried with and related so much to the Pattersons. I will hate to see the story lines end. But going back is good too, because I missed the very first years, so I'll look forward to the reflections also. And Shannon is such an inspiration. I will miss her story line too.
Stay well.

Ann F, Oakton, Virginia USA

ell, the time has come the walrus said....it is finally here. My family's life has mirrored the Patterson's in so many ways. I used to joke that somewhere in my house you had secretly installed a camera becasue the story lines were so similar. When Lizzie tried smoking, I lectured my own daughter, Elizabeth, about not doing it and she wondered how I knew she had just tried it!
Now my Elizabeth is to be married next September to a man who went to high school with her---but 3 years ahead of her--in her brother's class. They too "rediscovered each other 2 years ago. So, the similarities continue. I wish you all well and send lots of thanks for a heart warming moment each day. To make so many people smile so often is truly a wonderful thing!

Mary B, Titusville NJ

Lynn,

You and the Patterson family have been a part of my life as long as I can remember. My mother would read the strip to me when I was little (I am now 27 and read it to my nieces and nephew) and it was among the first things the I began to read on my own. I am thrilled that this treasured strip will continue on in some fashion and I look forward to seeing how it will grow in the future!

Nick, Seattle WA

Lynn,
My mom, who lives in RI, and I chat every day and discuss the "strip" as if these characters were part of our family. When Shannon was introduced and she yelled at everyone for being "different" I cried for hours. My son is autistic and my greatest fear is that people will make fun of him. Thank you for showing folks that we're all different! I will miss the old strip and look forward to the new phase.
Thank you!

Lynn R, Stamford CT

I read the last letters today and teared up. It is like losing good friends. i loved being able to get the inside scoop every month. Good luck with the hybrid. I will always keep reading.

Melissa, VA

Dear Lynn,
Today I turned to read the character letters and my heart ached that these were the last ones. What talent you have to turn pencil lines into people whom I have come to love!
I knew this time was coming and certainly applaud your choice in finding a way to have time for your life as well as keeping the script going. Still, I mourn. Who will April grow up to be? How many children will Liz have? What will Michael's next book be about? Will Jim ever be able to clearly express himself again? So many questions about these characters who are real in my heart.
Thank you for all the moments. I know I will enjoy those to come in a different way. So I will wipe these silly tears from my eyes and end as my name sharing character, Connie, once said, "Que sera, sera!

Blessings to you and yours,

Connie R, Danville Indiana

Dear Lynn,
Like most of your readers I have followed FBorFW for years, especially during Liz's time in Mtigwaki.
Today I recieved an email from a friend who recently moved to Canada with her new husband. He has taken a job on a native reserve on a small island. My friend described her experience as "I feel like Liz from For Better or For Worse!"

I found this to be rather humorous and thought to share it with you.

Thank you for all your dedication and hard work!

Amanda, Indiana

First of all: So far I don't like the "hybrid". I find the concept that Meredith is sitting still and interested in old stories pretty unrealistic for a child that young. I also don't like the "new" artwork; the young Elly was cute and always wore her hair down or in a low pony tail. The bun is not only not her, but totally unrealistic for the seventies.

Second thing: I LOVE the explanded bios in the Who's Who section. I have read Brad's, and I seriously hope these are the stories you begin to explore in the strip. At this point, the secondary characters are much more interesting than the Pattersons.

I would particularly like to see the Mtig strips expanded and more details on all the people there who seemed to have rich back stories to tell.

DH, Texas

Dear Lynn~
I felt sad today as I read the last of the monthly newsletters and realized they would no longer be there. It has been wonderful growing up with your family and watching them as I watched mine grow up. Their lives and happenings will be missed, but I will still enjoy what is to come. Please try to let us know what happens with Liz and Anthony, it would be so sad if it was never completed before you change everything and no one grows old or continue with their lives. Do that much, please. Thank you again for your wonderful stories; I so look forward to reading your strip everyday and it is my favorite of all! God Bless and enjoy your life and thanks for sharing.

Yvonne, Baltimore

After reading todays strip, and the FBorFW newsletter, I felt sad. I know you're turning in a new direction, but I feel like I'm loosing a part of my life.
You've always been the start to my day, the ONLY comic strip I follow daily. I've watched the Pattersons grow with me 1st, then my own family. It was so nice to have a family strip, one everyone could identify with.
I do hope your official website will stay up and running.
Lynn, you and the FBorFW Team have done a wonderful job all these years, and I thank you for all the laughs, tears, and memories.

Hedy B, Kansas

I have literally grown up with the Pattersons. I starting reading the strip because Michael and I were the same age. Both our dad's were dentists and we had annoying younger siblings. It's funny to think how I saw the entire family life from his perspective. Reading those books now as a parent I see them completely differently. Our lives diverged some in that Michael went on to be an author and I followed in my dad's footsteps. My favorite strips are now the ones that focus on dentistry. The unique perspective you've managed to write with has never ceased to amaze me. Years ago, I couldn't imagined how much this strip would mean to me today, but I'm glad to have it as a part of my life. Thank you.

Chris M, Denver

I was saddened to read that the monthly letters are not continuing. As for many fans, I have looked forward to catching up on the Patterson family "thoughts".

FBorFW has been a been a part of my family since Lynn wrote "David, We're Pregnant" which I received when we were expecting our first child. (Having my copy signed was a thrill for me.)

Reliving the lives of the Pattersons and also my own family, will be exciting with many different emotions I am sure. Thanks for keeping us in touch.

Marylou R, Burlington

I happily read that Lynn plans to wrap up the existing storylines (mingling those strips with some "looking-back" content)and that "there will still be resolution to the current story arcs..." That is good news! FBorFW has been my favorite strip for ages and I would hate to have to say goodbye to the Patterson's! Thank you, Lynn. You are gifted!

Sherill A, Seattle, Washington, U. S. A.

I have been reading FBOFW for I can't remember how many years, and have just read the final letters from the family & pets. I was close to tears--I feel like I am losing good friends. I am, however, looking forward to the new direction of the strip & getting to see the parts I missed before I was a regular reader. Thank you for all of the laughs & the times I read the strip & thought "this sounds like my house!"

Shari, Nashville TN

Oh gosh, I had tears in my eyes this morning after reading the newsletters. The words were so beautifully put together and expressed my thoughts about growing older. How do you do that? I mean get inside my head that way?
Thank you ever so much for touching my heart.

Candace, Elmhurst, Illinois

Lynn, you have as much right to retire as anyone else. I have worked in the comics industry as a writer for a story that has lasted over three decades, and know how frustrating it can be for fans to just want "more of what they know" or are used to.

But I am very disappointed with what you're planning to do with FBoFW. Great for wrapping up story lines, as you promise -- even though we'll never know where April goes to college, we won't be able to ease Jim into that final transition to find his timeless Marian, and the brief touch we've had with Shannon, the Mtig folks, and the other secondaries will fade without resolution.

But this old-and-new thing? It's like watching someone you love go through senile dementia, repeating the same stories over and over, even if *they* think it's the first time it's been told quite this way. Or watching someone you love on life support -- the heart beats, the lungs inflate, but they aren't "there."

I would rather have seen one good "TA DAH!" of a wrap up, and then wished you Godspeed with tears and confetti, just as we did with Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes. The old stories are in book collections. They have a forever "shelf life" for FBoFW fans. This new hybrid is unnecessary and just plain sad.

Joellyn AK, Warnerville NY

I just caught on to the import of the retrospection. I read the announcement on the FBorFW website and was at a loss. I, too, have read this story first thing in the morning and was saddened by the news that it would come to an end. I have greatly enjoyed "participating" in the life of the Patterson family. I am right there with John and Elly, as my kids are leaving home and exploring life on their own. I wish Lynn, her staff, and family all the very best in the future, with great thanks for all the joy the strip has brought so many people, especially me. I hope your next endeavor is fulfilling and joyful.

Judson, Jeffersonville IN

As per my usual routine, I woke up and headed to my computer to check my email and FBoFW. I enjoyed the strip, and then clicked on the "Meet the Pattersons" tab to see if the September letters were up.

I began to read Elly's letter...

and I cried.

As I read through each family member's letters, I realized how impacted and touched I have become by this strip. I realized that there would be no more stories from Grandpa Jim, no more music from April, no more train parties with John...

I appreciated Michael's letter the most. He and I are very close in age, and I too wanted to be a writer (although the fire has dwindled a bit). When he wrote of the "many stories" that are now running through FBoFW, I understood what he meant. There are so many things that we, as "real" people, experience in a day, it would be impossible to document them all. So squeeze those life-stories into a comic strip... well, you simply can't do it justice.

While I look forward to revised strip, I will miss seeing what happens to the Patterson family. However, I am so grateful to the years of dedication and emotion that Lynn and her team have given to so many of us. Hopefully one day I can shake Lynn's hand and say "Thank you."

This truly has been a wonderful experience reading the strip over the last sixteen (or so) years.

Thank you!!!

Jim I, Bloomington, IN

Lynn,

You've seen me through high school, college, through marriage, and through the realities of being married and being a writer. Despite some of the recent accusations against him, I understand Michael - I live out the same reality. I know what it's like to be trapped thinking about another world, with another story you need (and it is a need!) to put on paper.

When I read his monthly letter this morning, the new reality of FBorFW hit home. I won't have Michael those few years ahead of me anymore, letting me know what's coming, and reminding me I'm not alone. It is like losing a friend.

So though it's been said before, thank you Lynn. Thank you for your years of work, your persistence, your attention to detail. Thank you for helping so many of us as we grew up with your true to life stories.

But most of all, thank you Lynn's family for being willing to share her, and let her tell these stories for so many years. We can't thank you enough for that!

And Lynn... please tell Michael I'll miss him.

Jana H, Sault Ste, Marie, ON