The Bookshelf
The Bookshelf
ABC Australia
Four new memoirs: Mandy Sayer/Elizabeth Gilbert/Arundhati Roy/S. Shakthidharan
53 minutes Posted Oct 9, 2025 at 6:00 am.
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Show notes
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 MENTIONED
Hannah Kent, Always Home, Always Homesick
Jeanette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal
Elizabeth Strout, works
Jenny Hocking, Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History; His Time
Sarah 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