What can you remember of your childhood? This was the question put to a number of ‘seniors’ asked to start from as far back as they could get, and go as far as the onset of adolescence. Their answers are in this unusual book. Topics naturally include their physical self; their parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, playmates, teachers, classmates, pets; their manners, training, rewards and punishments; food; play, toys; likes, dislikes; schools, kindergarten, elementary; outings, holidays, travel; notable experiences; dreams, nightmares, pleasures, fears. They were also invited to give an account of their physical surroundings, their home, and the context of everyday life, what they took for granted; and to draw attention to a past in which so much of what is now common was then absent: TV, cell-phones, ubiquitous motor cars, air travel. The question was directed to and accepted by people from a number of countries and with a range of experiences. Several are or were academics, and the introduction contains some comments on memory and points to commonalities among the remembered experiences, as well as differences. But the book is mainly for the general reader, who may want to ask: what can I remember of my childhood? - Let me try!

Not an autobiography in the customary sense, Benjamin's recollection of his childhood in an upper-middle-class Jewish home in Berlin's West End at the turn of the century is translated into English for the first time in book form.

A social history of Australia, not of the famous and heroic, but of the small people, the anonymous people who were the heartbeat of a growing nation What did kids do in the 1950s when there were no smartphones, tablets, and computers? They roamed the neighbourhood on scooters and bikes. They went on bush hikes. They went to Saturday matinees where the theatres were packed to the rafters, and kids yelled at hero-action and booed kissing. Most of their pleasures were self-made. Besides roaming the streets free of risk, kids enjoyed trips to the beach and zoo. They took a double-decker bus town to see the Christmas displays. Christmas in the city was a wonderland of toys and amusements. The decade of the 1950s now seems idyllic to many now in their seventies and eighties. It was so different from the first decades of the 21st century that those years now seem like another world, an impossible world of social and moral values. In today’s atmosphere, it seems hard to imagine it possessed any legitimate social and moral coherence. The author looks back on those years, telling the story as much about the world he grew up in as about himself. He starts from his birth in July 1946 and goes to the end of his second year at primary school, 1953, when he turned six and learnt to read. It was also the year that Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England, a super-nova event for Australia. The author’s story involves his lifelong friend, Pete, a rubella baby, a condition which tragically took his already poor sight in his teenage years. Pete’s story, told as an adult without sight, is fascinating. The year 1946 was the year after the Second World War had ended. Despite an optimistic outlook, Australia was full of talk of the war – of the threat of war, of the suffering, of the shocking cruelty of the Japanese army, and of lost loved ones. The author’s upbeat father, just discharged from the navy with the rank of Chief Petty Officer, put it all behind him and began building the family’s first house in Lane Cove, a suburb on the north side of Sydney Harbour, and the scene of his childhood. Their new three-bedroom, double-brick home was like a palace. For a boy, who according to his mother had ants in his pants, the author remembers much about the social and political events that provoked his father into long and loud comment. He has clear memories of the Korean War, the activities of the communist-controlled unions, Prime Minister Menzies’ measures against them, and so much more. The local convent under the regime of the Mercy Sisters is an unmissable part of his story. He recalls with affection the sisters’ teaching methods and their strict regimentation of their pupils. He thinks some of their disciplinary methods, now condemned by many, are rather amusing to look back on. He regards that class of 1953 as the end of a phase in his development when he learnt to read. The following year, 1954, was rich in social and political events and will start the fourth book in the family history series, COMMUNISTS, BILLYCARTS AND TWO WHEELERS.

From a pioneer in the field of mental health comes a groundbreaking book on the healing power of "mindsight," the potent skill that allows you to make positive changes in your brain–and in your life. Foreword by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence • Is there a memory that torments you, or an irrational fear you can't shake? • Do you sometimes become unreasonably angry or upset and find it hard to calm down? • Do you ever wonder why you can't stop behaving the way you do, no matter how hard you try? • Are you and your child (or parent, partner, or boss) locked in a seemingly inevitable pattern of conflict? What if you could escape traps like these and live a fuller, richer, happier life? This isn't mere speculation but the result of twenty-five years of careful hands-on clinical work by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. A Harvard-trained physician, Dr. Siegel is one of the revolutionary global innovators in the integration of brain science into the practice of psychotherapy. Using case histories from his practice, he shows how, by following the proper steps, nearly everyone can learn how to focus their attention on the internal world of the mind in a way that will literally change the wiring and architecture of their brain. Through his synthesis of a broad range of scientific research with applications to everyday life, Dr. Siegel has developed novel approaches that have helped hundreds of patients. And now he has written the first book that will help all of us understand the potential we have to create our own lives. Showing us mindsight in action, Dr. Siegel describes • a sixteen-year-old boy with bipolar disorder who uses meditation and other techniques instead of drugs to calm the emotional storms that made him suicidal • a woman paralyzed by anxiety, who uses mindsight to discover, in an unconscious memory of a childhood accident, the source of her dread • a physician–the author himself–who pays attention to his intuition, which he experiences as a "vague, uneasy feeling in my belly, a gnawing restlessness in my heart and my gut," and tracks down a patient who could have gone deaf because of an inaccurately written prescription for an ear infection • a twelve-year-old girl with OCD who learns a meditation that is "like watching myself from outside myself" and, using a form of internal dialogue, is able to stop the compulsive behaviors that have been tormenting her These and many other extraordinary stories illustrate how mindsight can help us master our emotions, heal our relationships, and reach our fullest potential.

What are your earliest childhood memories? Were you afraid of the dark? Can you remember a particularly embarrassing moment? Those memories—along with the words and emotions you use to describe them—hold the key to understanding the person you are today! Drawing on examples from his own life, the lives of celebrities, as well as case studies from his private practice, renowned psychologist Dr. Kevin Leman helps you apply these same techniques to uncover why you are the way you are. Remember, “The little boy or girl you once were, you still are!” So unlock that memory bank—pick a memory, any memory—and discover what makes you tick!

Capture the Stories of a Lifetime Record the stories of your life—or a loved one's—in this keepsake that will be cherished for generations to come! This guided journal features: fill-in pages with thought-provoking prompts to capture key moments and favorite memories from childhood to adulthood advice and exercises to help reconstructing memories from long ago interactive pages for family and friends to share their own stories unique binder format lets you add, remove, or rearrange pages bonus CD with printable copies of each fill-in page, ensuring you never run out of space My Life & Times makes it easy to save and share the memories that make up your life.