[1] She was born to an Iraqi father and an English mother, and she was raised in Britain and Canada.
In September 2007, she published The Orange Trees of Baghdad: In Search of My Lost Family (Key Porter Books), which details her Iraqi father's story and her Iraqi family's experiences since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The book includes family photographs as well as contemporary photos by acclaimed Iraqi Canadian photojournalist Farah Nosh; it was widely praised on publication, notably by Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky.
In July 2008, she won the George Ryga award for Social Awareness in Literature.
The Orange Trees of Baghdad was published in Canada, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, France, Turkey, the UK Commonwealth and the USA.