This title was first published in 2000:  Why do mature women return to education? On the face of it, the answer would seem obvious - to gain qualifications which they had not acquired in their earlier learning. However their return to learning seems to be much more than just about paper qualifications. This book describes the experiences of a number of mature women students who return to learning some time after their compulsory schooling. It looks at the links which the women make between their life stories and their return to education. In particular, it focuses upon a number of women who talk of painful experiences either past or current in their lives - experiences such as manipulative and controlling parents, psychological, physical and sexual abuse, an alcoholic parent, the death of a child or other family members and other difficult life events. These experiences have had a considerable and often ongoing effect on the women’s lives and their return to education seems to be much more than just about paper qualifications.