This book considers the aftermath of the 1984-85 miners' strike. It documents and analyzes the processes of social change within a pro-strike, an anti-strike and a divided community. It focuses on the images of community endorsed in each of the communities, and how they have been affected by the experience of the strike and its aftermath. The book discusses the differential impact on everyday life, especially upon work, gender relations and social networks and the extent to which the strike and its aftermath has shaped attitudes towards authoritative institutions, notably the legal system, the media and politics. It then examines how people view the future of their communities in the 1990s. Split at the Seams? aims to provide an insight into the previously neglected processes of change and adjustment taking place in mining communities in the wake of the dispute.