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

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

The Bookshelf · Australian Broadcasting Corporation