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Book  Review  
  

Review  of  Holland,  Janet  and  Rosalind  Edwards,  eds.  Understanding  Families  over  Time:  Research  and  
Policy.  Palgrave  MacMillan:  Hampshire,  England:  2014.    205  pp.  $79.99  (e-­‐‑book)  

  

  
Richard  Zimmer    
Sonoma  State  University  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Anthropology & Aging, Vol 37, No 1 (2016), pp. 63-64 

 ISSN 2374-2267 (online) DOI 10.5195/aa.2016.156 
 

 

 
  
  
  

 
 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 United States License. 
 

This journal is published by the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh as part of its 
D-Scribe Digital Publishing Program, and is cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press. 



Anthropology  &  Aging  
Vol  37,  No  1  (2016)        ISSN  2374-­‐‑2267  (online)        DOI  10.5195/aa.2016.156      http://anthro-­‐‑age.pitt.edu  
	
  

  
Zimmer  |  Book  Review  63  

 
Book  Review  

Review  of  Holland,  Janet  and  Rosalind  Edwards,  eds.  Understanding  Families  over  Time:  Research  and  Policy.  
Palgrave  MacMillan:  Hampshire,  England:  2014.    205  pp.  $79.99  (e-­‐‑book)  

  
Richard  Zimmer    
Sonoma  State  University  

  
 Janet  Holland  and  Rosalind  Edwards  have  put  together  an  excellent  rich  collection  of  essays  about  

the  state  of  familial  relations  in  the  United  Kingdom.    They  and  various  other  authors,  have  focused  on  
Qualitative  Longitudinal  Research  (QLR),  drawn  from  a  series  of  continuing  research  efforts  in  different  
parts  of  England  and  Northern  Ireland,  especially  the  Timescape  Project.  This  volume  is  part  of  a  series  
issued  by  Palgrave  MacMillan  that  examines  changes  in  all  aspects  of  family  and  personal  life  in  the  UK.    

The  research  addresses  changes  in  ages  in  mother  and  father  roles  and  the  changes  in  reciprocal  roles  
of  grandparents,  parents,  grandchildren,  and  great  grandchildren.  Each  of  the  essays  sets  their  findings  in  
the  context  of  political  and  economic  changes  going  on  in  the  UK,  especially  noting  the  ways  in  which  
government  policy  and  social  support  institutions  affect  personal  and  familial  choice.    The  authors  embody  
their  findings  by  presenting  case  studies/vignettes  of  their  informants.      

Sheena  McGrellis  and  Janet  Holland  present  a  good  example  of  how  both  economic  and  political  
factors  affect  one  person'ʹs  career  and  family  prospects.     "ʺMaeve"ʺ,  a  middle-­‐‑class  woman,  left  Northern  
Ireland  with  her  long-­‐‑term  partner  to  further  their  prospects  and  then  returned  during  hard  times:  "ʺ  'ʹIt'ʹs  
just  the  way  things  are  at  the  moment,  isn'ʹt  it,  the  recession...when  we  left,  everything  was  fine,  and  when  
we  came  back  this  had  all  happened  and  we  were  like,  what  is  going  on,  awful,  all  this  bad  news,  left  ,  right,  
and  center.  (2014:  58.)  'ʹ"ʺ        It  took  them  several  months  to  adjust  to  the  new  conditions  and  readjust  their  
lives.    

Maeve  and  her  partner  were  lucky  because  of  their  training  and  background.    Lower  class  young  
men,  especially  ones  who  started  families  early,  however,  found  their  lives  interrupted,  postponed,  and  
diverted  by  the  Recession  of  2008  and  the  Cameron  Administration'ʹs  austerity  policies.    Bren  Neale  and  
Carmen  Lau  Clayton  present  "ʺDarren,"ʺ  aged  21,  having  to  deal  with  new  circumstances:  "ʺOne  grandmother  
in  the  sample  offered  to  become  the  primary  caregiver  once  the  grandchild  was  born...'ʹOh  my  mum...she  
was  like  "ʺif  you  can'ʹt  look  after  him,  I'ʹll  take  him  on  as  my  own  but  he'ʹll  still  be  calling  you  mum  and  dad'ʹ  
[sic]  and  all  this.'ʹ"ʺ  (2014:76.)  Many  young  fathers  in  the  studies  were  willing  to  "ʺstep  up"ʺ  to  the  new  roles  
they  had,  including  more  housework,  but  they  still  relied  to  a  great  deal  on  their  parents,  and,  often,  on  the  
new  mother'ʹs  parents  to  provide  care  giving  and  financial  support.  

Nevertheless,  women  continue  to  experience  the  most  conflict  and  adjustment  in  terms  of  managing  
family  and  work  roles.      Rachel  Thomson  presents  "ʺDeborah,"ʺ  a  middle-­‐‑class  woman  as  she  adjusts  to  her  
pregnancy  and  new  motherhood.    As  many  women  find,  a  woman,  becoming  pregnant,  especially  when  
she   is   visibly   so,   changes   a   "ʺgender-­‐‑neutral"ʺ   workplace   into   a   gendered   workplace:   she   is   obviously   a  
woman,  a  person  who  is  becoming  a  mother,  and  will  have  to  adjust,  as  will  the  workplace,  to  her  new  
status  and  condition.  She  has  to  decide  how  much  time  to  take  off,  how  much  time  to  work  at  some  point  
after  the  child  is  born,  and  how  to  change  her  role  vis-­‐‑a-­‐‑vis  her  mother.    This  latter  point  is  a  good  example  
of  her  shifts:      "ʺ...  Deborah'ʹs  university  education  and  career  success  created  a  gulf  between  mother  and  
daughter.  The  arrival  of  a  granddaughter  has  made  this  a  little  easier.  (2014:117.)"ʺ        Thomson  notes  that  
Deborah'ʹs  mother  has  been  re-­‐‑examining  her  own  past  to  see  that  women  could  and  can  have  greater  
independence  juggling  family  and  career.  

  
  

  
  



Anthropology  &  Aging  
Vol  37,  No  1  (2016)        ISSN  2374-­‐‑2267  (online)        DOI  10.5195/aa.2016.156      http://anthro-­‐‑age.pitt.edu  
	
  

  
Zimmer  |  Book  Review  64  

  
  
As  a  consequence  of  their  children'ʹs  new  parenthood,  many  grandparents  now  faced  new  demands.    

Many  younger  ones  were  willing  to  take  on  a  greater  role  in  their  adult  children'ʹs,  grandchildren'ʹs,  and  
great  grandchildren'ʹs  lives.    This  was  especially  true  of  lower  class  elders.    But  some  people  resented  being  
put  into  this  new  role  when  they  were  "ʺtoo  young"ʺ  themselves.  Nick  Emmel  and  Kathryn  Hughes  offer  us  
the  case  of  "ʺRuth"ʺ:  "ʺHer  experience  of  grandmothering,  her  feeling  that  she  is  the  wrong  age-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑expressed  
through  the  accounts  of  the  way  she  feels  some  of  her  neighbours  judge  her  and  people  in  the  street  think  
about  her-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑is,  we  suggest,  the  lack  of  harmony  between  societal  symbol  and  her  reality  (2014:  170.)"ʺ            

At  the  same  time,  many  children  of  parents  experiencing  challenges  and  changes  find  that  they,  too,  
have  to  adapt  to  the  needs  of  their  parents  and  grandparents.    They  play  a  greater  role  in  housework  and  
care  giving.  What  is  particularly  interesting  is  that  they  have  hopes  for  their  parents'ʹ  own  development  and  
see  themselves  as  playing  a  constructive  role  in  their  lives  as  they  all  age.    Rosalind  Edwards,  Susie  Weller,  
and  Sarah  Baker  present  "ʺRooney,"ʺ  age  16:    "ʺ  ...[he]  talked  about  his  family  sticking  with  and  up  for  each  
other...(2014:  44.)"ʺ    Edwards  et  al.  see  this  family  solidarity  and  set  of  expectations  contrary  to  the  media-­‐‑
prevalent  narrative  of  intergenerational  warfare  and  resentment  of  the  upcoming  generation  often  found  in  
the  UK  and  the  US.    They  say  that  the  resentment,  in  particular,  is  only  experienced  by  a  minority  of  people.    
"ʺ[I]nter-­‐‑generational  and  intra-­‐‑generational  conflict  and  solidarity  are  far  from  the  simplistic  divisions  that  
intergenerationalists  would  lead  us  to  believe  (2014:44.)"ʺ            

The  authors  of  the  various  articles  and  the  editors  intend  that  the  case  studies  and  their  conclusions  
provide  the  basis  for  policy  considerations  and  social  service  practice.    Throughout  the  book,  it  is  clear  
that  economic  policy  affects  family  structure  and  disrupts  adjustment  patterns.    It  changes  opportunities  
for  all  involved.    Oftentimes  agencies  can  and  do  adversely  affect  families,  as  when  "ʺGeoff"ʺ  and  
"ʺMargaret"ʺ  got  a  "ʺmidnight  drop"ʺ  by  social  services  of  their  three  granddaughters  because  Mom  was  a  
"ʺchronic  heroin  user."ʺ    Nick  Emmel  and  Kahryn  Hughes  note  that  there  was  no  warning  of  the  drop  and  
no  follow-­‐‑up  in  terms  of  social  supports  (2014;167,  172.)        

In  their  conclusions,  Janet  Holland  and  Rosalind  Edwards  argue  that  policy  and  future  research  
should  help  the  choices  parents,  grandparents,  and  growing  children  should  make,  not  work  against  
them.    They  further  contend  that  qualitative  research  should  continue  to  enhance  this  policy  debate  as  
well  as  understand  from  a  larger  perspective  what  changes  families  are  experiencing  (2014:190-­‐‑1.)  Their  
conclusions  and  methodologies  are  also  useful  for  students  of  family  structure  and  policy  in  other  
countries.