“I didn’t know loss could trigger a sonic assault like this from within,” she writes. “An incessant, moaning, discordant sonata only I can hear.”

For the rest of the book, we follow Naidoo as she goes on a series of immersive urban nature adventures around Sydney with “urban spirit guides”, learning lessons from nature.

By looking at feathers, she learns that “maybe … my fragility is my strength”.

From birds, she learns “… that now is all we ever really have”.

From weeds, “… there’s living to be had here if you’re willing to grab it by the reins and hold on for dear life”.

From flying kites, she accepts “You’re always going to lose if you try to fight the wind. Surrender yourself to its currents and like a kite, it will propel you forward.”

She goes on a walk with an ant expert to learn “… how precious every moment would feel if we injected our years with the gratitude of ants.”

“If an ant can find purpose in such a short existence, have I squandered mine?”

Gardening offers her the ultimate ad vitam; “… not only an act of hope; it is also an act of acceptance. Endings are part of renewal”.

Even before the devastating loss of her sister, Naidoo found solace and fortitude in gardening. During her book tour promoting her 2011 lifestyle book, The Edible Balcony: How to Grow Fresh Food in a Small Space, she spoke at Newtown Library, where I sat in the audience as an aimless, curious uni student.

I still remember the wondrous sense of playfulness and quiet thrill to which Naidoo approached her verdure vocation – everything about her presence that day exuded a unique, child-like marvel I have always been drawn to.

Despite the trauma that leads to the creation of her latest book, Naidoo carries this distinct strain of joyfulness throughout – so precious and uncommon, especially at a time of tremendous grief.

“Can nature be an alchemist, transforming my horror into the beauty I see around me?” she asks.

The answer, clearly, lies in our ability to recognise the humility of all the living things around us.

The Space between the Stars by Indira Naidoo is published by Murdoch Books, $32.99.