The Girl from 108 by Lorraine Clements is a memoir of growing up in a strict Irish Catholic boarding house on 108 King Street in Charlottetown. Lorraine shares the tales of her childhood in the 1950s and 1960s when times were different than today. Her parents operated a boarding house which served as a home for men while they worked at various jobs. Most homes didn’t have TVs, radio was central for Saturday nights, and two newspapers were printed a day. As a child Lorraine overheard talk that she was adopted; a fact that was reluctantly confirmed by her parents when she was 15. After she sought out her mother, she discovered there was more to the story.
“Lorraine is an inspiration in strength and spirit. Pownal Street Press is excited to bring her stories to print and share this important history of growing up on Prince Edward Island.”
—Genevieve Loughlin, Publisher of Pownal Street Press
The Girl from 108 will be available early summer 2023.
LORRAINE CLEMENTS has spent her life on Prince Edward Island. In 1970, Lorraine dropped out of Notre Dame Academy at the age of 18 and three months later married her soulmate, Fred, and they have been married ever since.
In the early 2000s Lorraine and family were part of a pilot project on recycling household trash into compost, paper and plastics along with trash. Lorraine published her first book, A Guide to Recycling on Prince Edward Island in 2002, which went on to sell over 3200 copies.
Lorraine was inspired, at the age of 65, to go to the University of Prince Edward Island and graduated with her bachelors degree at the age of 70. While at UPEI, she was published in Abandon, Volume 7 of the UPEI Arts Review.
Lorraine and Fred enjoy their retirement living in Charlottetown and at their cottage in Rustico where many more stories and memories make life still interesting. Lorraine is an expert crafter and there is always a new project to inspire her. An avid walker, there is nothing more soothing than walking a dirt road, listening to the birds chatting, the squirrels sounding off for food and the waves lapping against the shore.