They were using the dolls to project their dreams of their own futures as adult women.

Through their play Barbara imagined their lives as adults. They used the dolls to reflect the adult world around them. They would sit and carry on conversations, making the dolls real people.

Honour looked so much like a child herself, confined to bed, a white nightgown, like one of those maudlin Victorian dolls. Her cheeks were red, like someone had painted them, but I knew it was from rubbing, wiping away her melancholy.

I thought the Barbie doll would always be successful.

We women have to stick together.

If you treat a sick child like an adult and a sick adult like a child, everything usually works out pretty well