Cynthia Banham is a full-time writer and part-time habitat gardener. Previously, she worked as a lawyer, journalist and academic. She spent two decades in Canberra, initially working in the Parliament House press gallery and later completing a PhD on human rights law and politics at the Australian National University. Since returning to Sydney, she has become immersed in restoring her manicured garden into a wilder place of refuge for frogs, lizards, insects, and small birds. Among the many losses Cynthia suffered after surviving a plane crash with life-changing injuries was a connection to nature.