2 interviews. The Patti Barker interviews follow the chronology of her life from childhood to young adulthood, marriage, motherhood, and divorce. She describes the potentials and limits of rural women’s opportunities during the 1970s and 1980s. She also describes the difficulties divorced women and single mothers face in rural areas.

The Sheryl Jesina interview follows her life chronologically from the almost seamless transition from farm girl to farm wife and mother. It includes her perspective on the reasons they invested in a large scale hog confinement operation.

The Jane Svoboda interview follows her life chronologically from young farm daughter to worker, wife, and mother. It includes rich reminiscences from her childhood in a Catholic, Irish-American farm family, her reciprocal relationship with her husband, their problems during the farm crisis and their solutions, and the variety of farm women’s contributions to family income. She responded to interview questions quickly and with energy. She voiced few ideas that related the changes in her rural community to economic forces, globalization, or national farm politics.

The Marlys Svoboda interview follows her life chronologically from young farm daughter to wife and mother. It centers on her choice to raise her family on a small-scale farm without outside employment. She voiced few ideas that related the changes in her rural community to the economic forces, globalization, or national farm politics.