The book offers a frank account of early academic promise that ended in disillusionment and ultimate failure. It offers hope to those whose initial successes may have come to nought and demonstrates that glittering prizes, easily won through natural ability, are often snatched from grasp by unforeseen circumstances, to be regained only by dint of diligent effort. The book may also be of interest to academic psychologists studying memory, as many readers may doubt the veracity of the authors early recollections. The author assures his readers that all the memories documented herein were either carefully validated by his mother when she was alive or corroborated by written records of the day.