Podcasts · The Bookshelf

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

9 Oct 2025 · 54 min

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

Links in the notes 1

• https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/how-to-plot-a-hit-in-two-days/

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)