In this wonderful chat with poet and gardener Em Koenig, we discuss the diagnostic journey as someone late-identified Autistic, working to put in safe boundaries post-identification and learning the importance of sometimes, saying no! 

Em is a gardener, dog dad, plant enthusiast, sometimes artist and PhD graduate who lives and works on Kaurna Country. He is the author of 2 collections of poetry: ‘Lightly on the Skin’ and ‘Breathing plural’ which won the 2020 Mary Gilmore Prize.  
After 9 years spent obtaining a PhD in poetry from the University of Adelaide, Em turned his other main passion into profit by starting his own gardening business which is now thriving.  
Em was diagnosed with autism in March 2022 and is still in the process of fighting imposter syndrome and figuring out exactly what that diagnosis means for him!