Even if you have done so already in your "Welcome" to the site, read these short quotes and insights from an assortment of writers who have all addressed memory and memoir. The memory works in diverse ways and often in the background. You might find that second and subsequent times you read through them other memories come to the fore.

In any event, they serve to get you in the right frame of mind to enter into the realm of your memories. You can return to them at anytime for inspiration or reassurance. As always, throughout this process, have a pen or pencil to hand or use your in-built jotter at the bottom of the page.

Any one of these quotes might spark a particular memory but that is not their main purpose. If they do, for the time being, just jot down a keyword or phase that will enable you to recall the initial impetus later when you can set it in the broader context of your journey.

Read each quote slowly and ponder any significance it might have for you. Some will and some will not. Do not hurry. Think carefully about what the author is getting at. Try reading them aloud to yourself.

Look at this phase as if it were packing for a journey you will embark on in a couple of days time. Once your mind has got into the swing of memory retrieval it will respond ever more readily. You can return to this section as often as you wish.

Don’t rush. Reflections will mature in your consciousness naturally enough and perhaps when you are not even trying.

Proceed to Phase 2 only when you are fully refreshed and ready, preferably after a gap of a day or so. You have a lifetime to ponder over.