DiscoverThe BookshelfFour new memoirs: Mandy Sayer/Elizabeth Gilbert/Arundhati Roy/S. Shakthidharan
Four new memoirs: Mandy Sayer/Elizabeth Gilbert/Arundhati Roy/S. Shakthidharan

Four new memoirs: Mandy Sayer/Elizabeth Gilbert/Arundhati Roy/S. Shakthidharan

Update: 2025-10-09
Share

Description

We look at some compelling new memoirs, including Mandy Sayer’s No Dancing in the Lift, a tribute to her jazz drummer father, capturing the grit of Kings Cross and the grace of caregiving. Elizabeth Gilbert’s All the Way to the River recounts her intense love story with Rayya Elias, confronting addiction and devotion. Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me reflects on her formidable mother’s legacy - equal parts shelter and storm, and S. Shakthidharan’s Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath offers a tender, multi-generational journey from Sri Lanka to Western Sydney.

BOOKS

Mandy Sayer, No Dancing in the Lift: A Memoir, Transit Lounge

Elizabeth Gilbert, All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation, Bloomsbury

Arundhati Roy, Mother Mary Comes to Me, Hamish Hamilton

SHAKTI Shakthidharan, Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath, Powerhouse Publishing  

GUESTS

Melanie Tait, Playwright. Her latest, How To Plot a Hit in Two Days, plays at the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney until 11 October.

Roanna Gonsalves, novelist and academic; editor of the literary journal, Southerly  

OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDHannah Kent, Always Home, Always HomesickJeanette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Can Be NormalElizabeth Strout, worksJenny Hocking, Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History; His TimeSarah Malik, Desi Girl: On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging

CREDITS

  • Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
  • Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
  • Sound engineer, Micky Grossman and Ann Marie Debettencor
  • Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown
Comments 
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Four new memoirs: Mandy Sayer/Elizabeth Gilbert/Arundhati Roy/S. Shakthidharan

Four new memoirs: Mandy Sayer/Elizabeth Gilbert/Arundhati Roy/S. Shakthidharan

Australian Broadcasting Corporation