AILSA PIPER - FOR LIFE
Schedule
Thu Aug 01 2024 at 06:30 pm to 08:30 pm
Location
4/77 Oxford Street, Bulimba, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4171 | Newstead, QL
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Join us at Riverbend Books at 6.30pm on Thursday August 1st to hear Ailsa Piper speak to Ashley Hay about her memoir, For Life.When her husband doesn't answer his phone, Ailsa Piper knows something is wrong. She calls their neighbour, and minutes later, he rings back. 'Oh, Ailsa. I'm so sorry,' he says. Five words to change a life.
Adrift, and wanting to escape her shattered world in Melbourne, Ailsa does the one thing that makes sense to her. She flees – or migrates – north. Rejecting all advice, she finds a place to grieve in a new city. And Sydney slowly begins to work on her fractured spirit. She learns to swim. She walks the harbour cliffs to the lighthouse, meeting the locals: winter swimmers and shoreline philosophers.
But we never leave our past behind. Ailsa is drawn back to Melbourne; and then back to Perth by her father. Home is never just one place.
For Life is a testament to the healing power of the natural world. It’s a celebration of renewal and wonder, friendship and kindness. It’s also an unflinching look at grief. This is a book that calls us tobear witness to death, and perhaps, even, to learn to appreciate it. For Life is a celebration of the past while revelling in the present, and above all, it is a recognition of our fragile, precious humanity and our capacity for renewal.
Ailsa Piper's first book was the travel memoir Sinning Across Spain. Then came The Attachment: Letters from a most unlikely friendship, which was co-authored with Tony Doherty. She has written for adio and theatre, and her script Small Mercies was co-winner of the Patrick White Playwright's Award. Ailsa also worked as an actor and director for many years and is an accomplished audiobook narrator.
Praise for For Life
Ailsa Piper has exquisitely wrought words and sentences into an intoxicating experience of life, love, loss and beauty. This is a courageous, vulnerable and joyful work that lingers long after the pages are turned. Tender, strong, and sensitively drawn from a life lead in wonder, curiosity, loss, joy and wisdom, Piper’s writing makes you want to dance, sing, soar, be held and be free. I was filled with an urge to both dive into the ocean, and to breathe in the world deeply. For Life proves Piper to be a poet and modern seer.
Suzie Miller, author of Prima Facie
A beautiful, courageous and unflinching testament to life. To love shadowed by loss. To the howl of impermanence salved by beauty and the interconnectedness of all things. A book of hope andhumanity.
Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
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Where is it happening?
4/77 Oxford Street, Bulimba, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4171, 3 Godwin St, Bulimba QLD 4171, Australia,Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, NewsteadEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
