Contributor(s): Lisa Appignanesi, Professor Anne Applebaum, Dr Charles Fernyhough | Our ability to remember forms the basis of who we are, and is a psychological trick that has fascinated scientists and authors alike. But are our memories reliable, or are the stories we tell about our past just a fiction of the mind? This panel brings together psychology, history and literature in its exploration of memory. Lisa Appignanesi OBE is a prize-winning writer, novelist, broadcaster and cultural commentator. A visiting professor at King’s College London, she is former president of the campaigning writers association, English PEN, and chair of London’s Freud Museum. . Her latest books are All About Love: Anatomy of an Unruly Emotion, and Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors. Anne Applebaum is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2012-13. Her books include Gulag: A History and Iron Curtain:The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56. Dr Charles Fernyhough is a writer and psychologist. His previous book, The Baby in the Mirror, was critically acclaimed in the UK and has been translated into seven languages. Pieces of Light:The new science of memory was published in July 2012. He is a reader in Psychology at Durham University and has written for the Guardian, Financial Times and Sunday Telegraph. Sandra Jovchelovitch is professor in the Institute of Social Psychology, LSE. She is a social and cultural psychologist interested in the development and social context of knowledge, social representations, community and the social psychology of public spheres. Her current research focuses on how different socio-cultural contexts shape the development and transformation of knowledge, and in particular, on how different systems of knowing meet and relate in contemporary public spheres. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.