Memory Stick - Anne Manchester

Born in Hamilton in 1950 with a penchant for drama, Anne Manchester was perplexed by her remote mother and frustrated by the strictures of a post-war upbringing. She launched into university life at full tilt, demonstrating against the Vietnam War, waitressing in Suzy's Coffee Lounge, losing her virginity to a gay man, taking part in university revues with Roger Hall and, despite her feminist beliefs, found herself crowned Miss Victoria University of Wellington. Anne began work as a film editor and took off on her OE, bringing an English husband home with her. They moved into a cottage in Eastbourne, where Anne has lived ever since, through the raising of two firecracker sons and the loss of one through a tragic accident, an unstinting passion for theatre, a controversial role as co-editor of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, divorce, remarriage and the joys of becoming a grandmother. Memory Stick is the story of a passionate woman living in the thick of things over seventy years of societal and cultural change, and weathering her share of loss, heartbreak and mistakes with courage and chutzpah. Written with a journalist's flair, it's a lively and entertaining read.