My mother and I have the kind of special relationship that so many mothers and daughters share: First I beg her for advice, then I scream at her for giving it. The only thing more annoying than having her tell me for the hundredth time how to get the grime off the shower curtain is to discover that, for the 101st time, I"ve forgotten how to do it.     We thought maybe she should write some of this down. Not only would it save her from repeating herself, but it would give me the chance to seek and reject her opinion without her actually having to be in the same room.     It's all part of an incredible mother/daughter duet that goes on from the moment we first pledge we will be nothing like our mothers, up to and including the moment their words start pouring out of our own mouths.     Needless to say, anyone who's ever wondered if the mother in the comic strip is anything like my own will get some real insight into the wealth of love, devotion, and "sensible suggestions" I've had to draw on all this time.     You may read this and be filled with warmth because it sounds exactly like your mother. You may read it and get a stomachache because it sounds exactly like your mother. You may read it and say, "Hah! That's nothing compared to what mine comes up with!"     Whatever your reaction, I'll bet that some frazzled evening, when dinner is smoldering in the kitchen, your business associates are comatose in the living room, and the outfit you're wearing is shrinking right before your eyes, you'll find some comfort in sneaking into a corner, flipping through the pages, and having someone's mom not only tell you you're doing just fine, but that almost anything could be fixed with a little vinegar.  --Cathy Guisewite                "Sometimes I feel like a set of encyclopedias that no one ever opens." --Mom in the comic strip Cathy     Anne Guisewite, the real mother of the real Cathy Guisewite (creator of the comic strip Cathy), has taken care of all that. In this book, she says it all--motherly advice on life, laundry, and kitchens--offered in counterpoint with her modern daughter's cartoon rebuttals. The result is a warm and affectionate and very personal love letter from a caring mother to a daring daughter. Anne Guisewite knows that giving advice is what motherhood is all about, and Cathy Guisewite knows that the wisecracks in her cartoons mask a deep bond between mother and daughter that any parent and child can identify with.