Product Description

To millions of fans who read For Better or For Worse in the more than 2,000 newspapers in which it appears, the Patterson family is like their own family. Full of love and humor, the Canadian clan embodies the ups and downs of everyday family life: John and Elly facing the reality of being middle-aged; daughter Elizabeth becoming more independent on her own at college; son Michael secretly marrying his longtime love, Deanna; and daughter April learning how to deal with a bully. Every day, the strip expresses life at it most heartwarming and humorous. In Family Business, the Pattersons gather forces to buy and reorganize a toy store where Elly has worked for years. Through their efforts to clean out the basement, put a miniature train display in the front window, and add hobby supplies, the Pattersons learn even more about their relationships with each other. As Grandpa Jim tells April, "What, with the new business, John's model trains, Mike's love life, Elizabeth, and you...there's never a dull moment!" Over the years, Lynn Johnston has been lauded for her realistic portrayal of family life and for approaching serious subjects with honesty and compassion. Farley, the family dog, for example, died after heroically rescuing April in 1995. One of Michael's friends, Lawrence, came out of the closet as a gay person. Elly's father Jim, moved in with the family after his wife died, and finally started dating again. Translated into eight other languages besides English, For Better or For Worse resonates with families around the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #403525 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

About the Author
Lynn Johnston began syndicating For Better or For Worse in 1979 and, since then, has published 28 books, most recently All About April and Graduation: A Time For Change. Lynn was the first woman, first Canadian, and the youngest artist ever to win the National Cartoonists Society's prestigious Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in 1985. In 1992, she received the Best Syndicated Comic Strip Award from the NCS. Lynn and her husband, Rod, live in Northern Ontario, Canada.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant outlook of the family.
To me for better or for worse is sort of the story of my life. And it kind of is the story of everybodys life. The Patterson family resembles the modern family. There are some good moments and bad moments. There are surprising moments and boring moments. And like life on the outside world people age and people die. People get married and sometimes people have hardships. Lynn Johnston is a brilliant cartoonist. She captures true family life and captures the relationships of the familys with eachother, their friends and their pets. Over the course of the strip the family pet has passed away and a friend announced something personal, and people have got married. I definetly woould reccomend this.

A family business
Lynn fasinates me with her insites on every day living and her sense of humor that makes life worth living.

Another Great book ...
Another Great book to visit the Patterson's with. "For Better / For Worse" has to be one of the best comic strips of all time. It really makes you think, "They are just like my family", and if you do not have kids, read the books so you know what to prepare for.