Cynthia's Swans (ABC Conversations)
Conversations with Richard Fidler, 18 January 2023
In the early 2000s, Cynthia Banham was working as a foreign correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald.
It was a job she loved, that took her to dangerous and fascinating places.
In 2007, Cynthia survived a plane crash while on the job, suffering terrible injuries and months of rehabilitation.
The experience required Cynthia to reinvent herself, which she did with the force of her will, the support of her husband, by becoming a mother and with the kindness of an Aussie Rules team.
After her son was born, Cynthia delved deep into a box full of documents belonging to her grandparents, who had emigrated to Australia from Italy.
In piecing together her family's story, of lives interrupted, Cynthia was able to better understand hers.
