This 1981 classic collection of Lynn Johnston's For Better Or Worse syndicated comicstrip soap opera is a wonderful place for FBoW readers to start.

Travel back in time to when Elly is a young married stay-at-home mom with a clueless spouse, a five-year-old Michael, and infant Elizabeth. Here can be seen the early development of the characters we have all grown up with. Lynn Johnston sees humor in the struggles and problems of a married mom in the early 1980's. The times have changed, but the problems are much the same.

The action is much easier to follow when it is a tight nuclear family rather than the extended four generation clan of today. Also Lynn's humor is much more on the surface as we see her struggle with what it means to be a married stay-at-home mom through the cartoon Elly and her attempts to find herself while raising two children and keeping up a home.

You know what it is - that last washload before you can settle down for the evening, that last drink of water before bedtime, that bone tired feeling that comes from caring for children, that feeling that they will always need you to bathe them and put them to bed and you will never ever be able to go to the bathroom in peace....or maybe you don't and you want to see what it's like. I recommend this book highly to give you that insight.

I must confess I am a fan of Lynn Johnston's "For Better or For Worse Seiries" and I _have_ had the "one more washload blues" more than once. It's a great beginning book to introduce you to the characters that Lynn follows faithfully in her daily comic strip. As it's fascinating to watch children grow into adults and see how they turn out, it's wonderful to see how stories get played out in Lynn Johnston's world.
So if you've ever had the "one more washload blues" or you know somebody who has, get this book. It will bring a smile to the weary person that suffers this fate - and it's cheaper than Prozac, no visits to the doctor and they can read it as often as they like;)