Finding Cynthia Winters

By Sue Watson

A powerful, moving, and darkly-honest memoir.

Sue Watson grew up in a perfect, loving nuclear family, a white-picket fence, quarter acre paradise. But all was not quite as it seemed.

Sue and her sister were adopted, and one day when Sue as a young woman was studying in Wellington, she received a letter from her birth mother Elizabeth Winters. This began a life-long journey to discover the shadowy truth of her past.

After decades in leadership roles and developing leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand, Sue has spent the last three years researching her birth family history and leaning into creative pursuits as a tool for connection, healing and acceptance. Finding Cynthia Winters shares her experience with reconnecting with her birth mother and the journey to seek the identity of her birth father.

It's a personal story of discovery, human nature, connection and the nuance of what it means to be a family.

Order via Lasavia Publishing, Amazon, or ask your favourite local book seller.

Published February 16 2026 by Lasavia Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-991083-43-2
RRP $35