This book was first published in 1978. The parents about whom the authors have written this book live in the poorest areas of a large city. They are widely dispersed; they do not know one another. There are certain features about their lives that bind them together and make them speak as if they had exchanged their views. Many come from large families and know the sorrows of premature death, disablement, stillbirth and unwanted pregnancy. This account of fifty-six families is an attempt to explore the interrelationship between the parents'' circumstances and the difficulties encountered by their children.