Preface: Grandmothers' voices 1 The grandmother hypothesis 2 'Mum, we've got something to tell you' 3 'One thing we can give as grandmothers is praise' 4 'They grow up quickly' 5 'But [my grandson]'s always busy with his friends or computer' 6 'As a grandmother, there are two of you' 7 The couple relationship 8 'She [grandmother] remembered talking to her grandmother' 9 A generation of grandmothers Conclusion: Invisible threads