One side-effect of surviving two years in two of Iran’s most infamous prisons, much of it in solitary confinement, is that Kylie Moore-Gilbert is more than comfortable in her own company. The Melbourne academic, whose plight made global headlines, gives every impression of thriving in it.
Eight months on from the prisoner-swap that secured her return after being sentenced to 10 years on espionage charges she denies, the 34-year-old is living a “calm and settled” life in the leafy quiet of the Dandenong Ranges, outside Melbourne.
“I’m doing pretty well, I’m just re-adjusting to being back in normality … [trauma] works differently for different people,” says Dr Moore-Gilbert, looking very Melbourne in her all-black outfit and cinched winter coat.
Dr Moore-Gilbert is spending her days writing a book about her experience, which she says is helping her close a psychological chapter.