ROANOKE, Va. (May 17, 2019) – Melvin Matthews Jr., a resident of Friendship Retirement Community, has published his fourth book,Loss of Innocence: America’s Scandals in the Post-War Years.Matthews, a retired Roanoke City employee, now spends his days reading, researching and writing from his apartment at Friendship. The Friendship staff has been assisting with administrative tasks throughout the publication process.“We are thrilled for Melvin,” said Chuck Flynn, Administrator of Friendship Assisted Living. “He’s spent a lot of time researching and writing and we couldn’t be happier that he’s done it during his time here with us.”Matthews is a freelance writer who has been studying American cultural trends of the 1950s for 40 years. Matthews began writing years ago and had published a few articles with The Roanoke Times.

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Since then he’s written three other books on social history, before the latest non-fiction title. Matthews says his interest in the topic originated from his readings about the events that were occurring around him as he grew up in the Roanoke Valley. Matthews worked with local reporter Gene Marrano as his editor on the project.“Now that I’m living here at Friendship, there’s more time to do what I want to do,” said Matthews.  Previously Matthews lived in a neighborhood off Williamson Road.When asked what his future plans are, Matthews responded, “I’ve decided to push ahead with my next book outline about the Kennedy Years popular culture,” he says.Matthew’s book, Loss of Innocence: America’s Scandals in the Post-War Years, is available for purchase on Amazon, along with two of his previous titles, Hostile Aliens, Hollywood and Today’s News: 1950s Science Fiction Films and 9/11 (Algora Publishing, 2007) and Duck and Cover: Civil Defense Images in Film and Television from the Cold War to 9/11(McFarland & Company, 2011).

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