We are five women who began meeting shortly after the accident at Three Mile Island, in the spring of 1979. We came together to talk about our hopes and fears for our children in an age of growing nuclear terror and uncertainty. Talking about our memories and sharing our deepest fears and feelings about the world had some interesting results. Each of us in her own way began to alternate between despair and relief--despair over the enormity of the problem, and relief at finally being able to talk about that despair.