All our memories are reconstructed memories. They are the product of what we originally experienced and everything that's happened afterwards.

Fraser’s remark distills a core finding of cognitive psychology: remembering is not a simple replay of a stored recording but an active reconstruction. What we call a “memory” is shaped by the original perception plus later information—subsequent experiences, conversations, emotions, and expectations—that can alter what feels like a stable past. The quote underscores why confident recollection can still be inaccurate, a point with particular force in eyewitness testimony and forensic contexts. It also suggests a more general human truth: personal identity and life narratives are continually revised as we reinterpret earlier events in light of what comes after.