Bridget Williams Books, 1989. Signed by author with dedication 'To Renee...'

Isn't nineteen an interesting age? It was, for Lauris Scott, in wartime Wellington. Her letters to her mother, which form the centre of this autobiography, capture the shimmering, passionate life of a nineteen-year-old.

The story begins in a Hawke's Bay childhood. Social Credit was the family creed; dramatic productions the order of the day. Leaving this close family group, the student Lauris wrote intimate letters home: friends, books, betrayals, ideals, all life's vicissitudes appear on the page with a sparkle that confirms a writer's hand. Detailed, direct and charming, this is the story of a young girl's passage into womanhood.