In this collection of autobiographical writing 12 women who grew into feminism in the 1970s look back on their childhoods. Some of the contributors grew up in homes of pinching poverty, others in an unbending orderliness, and others in an easy security. But the two great landmarks of this post-war Britain - the Welfare State and the Education Act - were a common feature which gave many of the girls a sense of possibility and of aspiration to a different future. The contributors include Alison Fell, Harriett Gilbert, Alison Hennegan, Liz Heron, Ursula Huws, Gail Lewis, Julia Pascal, Stef Pixner, Denise Riley, Sheila Rowbotham, Carolyn Steedman and Valerie Walkerdine. The editor is the author of Changes of Heart: Reflections on Women's Independence.