If the available syndicated dose of Sandra Bell-Lundy’s humor fails to satisfy your comedic needs, you will certainly enjoy Coffee, Tea, and Reality---a generous compilation of the comedienne’s work. Although I never read Bell-Lundy’s work before cracking open this book, once I dove in it became immediately apparent why she has achieved such high acclaim. She pens a successful syndicated comic strip, and her hundreds of loyal fans eagerly anticipate her vibrant characters’ successes, failures and challenges, which provide an abundance of fresh material.

This particular collection of comic strips tackles the lives of three high school friends--Susan, Maeve, and Kim—who seek to please their children, husbands, co-workers and friends while trying to maintain some sense of themselves. The doting and neurotic mothers and wives, the patient and misunderstood fathers and husbands, the divorcee and the whimsical children who are, after all, just children, all come alive and make for a funny and heart-warming read.

Not only are the characters all-encompassing but so are the subject matters, ranging from the true meaning of marital bliss, friendships, relationships, and our coveted (or what we believe are coveted) careers. There is also the examination of the inevitable truth that since not every child can be the brightest and most well-behaved child in the class, not every parent can claim to raise one. Bell-Lundy tackles serious (and not so serious) issues with poignancy and insight which allow her to present well-liked characters and send uplifting messages likely to have universal appeal.

Sometimes it is true that laughter is the best medicine, and this book offers the ideal dose.