‘The breath held or expelled in wonder, frustration or delight energises Emma Neale’s writing. Poems in The Truth Garden take risks because they need to; in the clamour of family life they have required attention, collected thought and a spirited attitude. How else to “stockpile time, how hoard its shine”, except in poems drawn from relationships, home and garden and cast in words that “spill like incandescence around your hands”.’ (Cilla McQueen, 2011 Kathleen Grattan Award judge)