In this article two different accounts are juxtaposed. In one, we use a variety of texts to narrate the story of Joanne, a woman undergraduate student of mathematics. Like many of our mature students Joanne came to the university with a "non-traditional" academic background. We describe how Joanne developed as a learner of mathematics and connect this to our ways of working in the undergraduate mathematics classroom. We believe that our pedagogy is unusual outside (some) school classrooms and suggest it allows our students to develop positive "disciplinary relationships." In the other, we grapple with the issues raised by telling other people's stories especially when we are also characters within it. Our intention has been that, in interweaving these two threads, each helps us understand more about the other. (Contains 5 notes.)