I don't wear step-ins anymore

<p><strong>A step-in or girdle was worn in the 50s and 60s to control the flab of a female body. Dianne escaped the control of a conservative and Christian middle class family in Sydney and sailed to England in 1968. On arrival she disposed of her constrictive clothing and began living a swinging London life. A year later and after a visit from her parents she moved to a Swiss Village for 6 months. Finally she travelled home overland by Sundowners bus from London to India in 1970.</strong></p><p>This memoir is from letters documenting her overseas journey of discovery. In January 2012 aged 64 she re-read and transcribed at least 300 letters and aerogrammes after being told by an older cousin she had been adopted at birth. She re-discovered the controlling mother she couldn’t stand growing up and even while bringing up a family of her own. </p><p>Her adoptive mother Ruby was the one who gave her back all the letters written to her suggesting she may wish to write a book one day about her travels. This memoir is a homage to her and also to her adoptive father George who constantly encouraged her to take off the step-ins and try everything in life.</p>