Five women, who come of age in the Fifties, tell how and why their lives change decade after decade to the present. In the Fifties, as part of a group of high school friends, they are programmed to please, to be perfect, and to be virgins until marriage. The scripts for their lives are written. They will marry the June they graduate from college, have children, and live happily-ever-after on the North Shore of Chicago. Their parents do not urge them to prepare for a profession because they are expected to depend on a man for their identity and support. But "the girls" have other ideas. While many of their friends gladly follow traditional paths, these women adapt deeply ingrained standards to what is happening around them. They take flight from their predestined lives to lives of self-reliance and independence. And, along with the other women of their generation who hold similar visions, they leave a legacy of choices to the next generation of young women. After opening their hearts and revealing their secrets and life stories-which they describe as a powerful and rewarding experience-they encourage readers to journal about exceptional or significant moments in their lives.