The Last Stitch in the Quilt

The patterns of our working lives are fluid and often unpredictable. They are linked to the process of identity forming that we understand as a recognizable, but continuously changing pattern of actions and developments within our lifespan, which includes our career choices. This interpretation allows us to identify the multiple temporal trajectories within a working life and to see how an analysis of temporalities can help us to understand the gendered nature of our careers. By using a number of retrospective narratives of older women about their working lives, we ascertain how an externally imposed and chronologically organized linear (life‐) career story breaks down into a number of a‐chronological trajectories, each of which is personally marked by the identity of the narrator. The theme of self‐care emerges and turns into a binding notion for working women from different generations.