Lynn Johnston on how the response to the Lawrence storyline affected her personally

TOM HEINTJES: If you had it to do all over again, would you have proceeded with the story?
LYNN JOHNSTON: Yes, despite the fact that it has been quite horrible. I have not slept, I have not eaten, I've lost 10 pounds, I've lost 19 papers, I've lost many readers. It was not something I did for joy, or something I did for publicity. I did not say, "Damn the detractors" and go ahead, intending to upset the editors, I did it because it was a story I really, fully believed in, and when you write a story that is perhaps a controversial one, you have to expect to take the heat. And I have. And I also have to realize how soft I am. I am not unmoved by the spears and arrows that are coming through the mail. I'm not immune to those. It absolutely is an attack on me, and it's from people who are thinking, feeling people. As a cartoonist who is very optimistic and who wants to be approved of, I am not unaffected by it. It has been an ordeal. Again, I've lost 10 pounds.
TOM HEINTJES: A new quick weight-loss method! [laughter]
LYNN JOHNSTON: I figure that if I ever get fat again, I'll do the abortion issue. [laughter] It's pretty well gone. I can feel all my ribs.