"Burdened with the guilt of having to initiate this dirty thing called sex, and having it on their minds all the time, the boys, in their role of sexual predator, dressed like crooks: greasy bogie cuts, zoot-suit pants and pointy black shoes.... They looked evil, because sex was evil, and evil was sexy."

Melinda McCracken's account of growing up in Winnipeg in the 1950s is a vivid portrait of this paradoxical period of licence and repression. She recounts the joys and frustrations of being a teenager in the wake of World War Two: the role of parents, of church, of school, and of peers in shaping a distinctive teenage culture. She presents this culture in remarkable detail, remembering the minutest social rituals, the peculiarities of fashion and style, the norms of social life and the baroque rules surrounding sexuality at this time.

Memories are made of this offers a vital glimpse into the fascinating youth culture of 1950s Canada.

Melinda McCracken (1940–2002) was a Manitoba author, journalist, poet and filmmaker. During her career, she wrote for the Winnipeg Free Press, Weekend Magazine, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Rolling Stone, Chatelaine _and _Maclean’s. She is also the author of Memories are made of this. She wrote Papergirl in 1980–81, after her daughter, Molly, was born. Melinda had a strong interest in social justice, feminism and everyday people’s history.

Melinda McCracken's profile page