Faking It

I was amazed and shocked to read that we create false memories for ourselves (‘False Memories’, June). My mother died when I was two years old and I have always believed my memories of her – not many – to be real. I had what I thought was a clear and genuine memory of her and I playing with our dog in the garden.

Reading this article has made me realise that in all likelihood my ‘memory’ came from a particular photo of us and from hearing my aunts and grandmother tell me how much she enjoyed playing with me in this way. While this is a sad realisation, having those ‘memories’ was a special connection and it no doubt helped me deal with the grieving process as I got older. AMANDA COLE