Author Sally Piper writes insightful novels that incorporate crucial social issues and the beauty of the natural world, and tells these stories through the perspective of relatable, contemporary characters. In her most recent novel, PEOPLE LIKE US (UQP 2026), she focuses her laser eye on housing insecurity, aging, sexism and family dynamics.
While each of her books navigates these themes, each has a primary focus. GRACE’S TABLE, for example, is very much about aging and family, while BONE MEMORIES is a beautiful ode to our environment and our place in it, and THE GEOGRAPHY OF FRIENDSHIP centres on female friendships and the stresses that might make or break them.
In PEOPLE LIKE US, Piper describes the unlikely friendship that arises between two women of very different class, status and circumstances. In her late 50’s, Tina Lamb is (almost) finished the heavy lifting work of raising four children, and looking forward to a comfortable retirement, but this life plan comes spectacularly unstuck when it becomes obvious that her husband, Gavin, completely in control of their finances, has acted with such fiscal incompetence that when their marriage inevitably dissolves, she is left with very little money and is practically homeless. She does have enough to purchase a worn and old caravan, which she parks in a caravan park consisting of some transient tourists and many long-term residents. It’s one step up from homeless, but not by much, and Tina feels the shame of her downfall.
She works hard trying to save enough for something better. She’s always worked hard, her entire life – raising a family, cooking, cleaning, caring and managing the lives of all her family members (including elderly parents) – but this has never been paid work. All of it voluntary, whether that be for school, for the community or for her own kin. Tina finds herself in the unenviable position of being over 50, with no resume or degrees; she joins forces with the rising number of women in this situation all over Australia.
Tina is spiky and hard, full of self-loathing and shame, and she hold regrets and grudges close. But as she gradually opens her heart to the people living around her, she begins to understand the joy of small kindnesses, warm friendships and genuine generosity of spirit. She’s a complicated character full of contradictions, but with plenty of pluck and resilience.
When she is offered a job as a companion to the much older Mrs Bell, her world widens. Wealthy and living in a ‘wing’ of an almost mansion, Mrs Bell is nevertheless isolated and lonely, because her family who live with her (in a different ‘wing’) are remote and distant, both physically and emotionally. Why else would they pay a stranger to sit with their mother each day?
The two women are both cautious at first about their relationship, their rights and responsibilities. Mrs Bell is demanding and gruff, and Tina really needs to keep this job to meet her goal. But the family has more going on than she’s bargained for, and as she grows closer emotionally to Mrs Bell, she must choose between her loyalty towards the older woman, and her sense of self-preservation.
Meanwhile, the caravan park is its own ecosystem – a hotbed of gossip, eavesdropping, shared ablutions facilities, the occasional theft and case of foot thrush from the grimy showers. None of it is ideal. Nothing is what Tina expected or wanted, especially at this time of her life. But it is what it is, and she must deal with it. She’s forced to think long and hard about her own opinions, biases and judgments, about what she will tolerate and under what she will draw the line.
I love the humour in PEOPLE LIKE US, a style of writing that shines best in this book (I think) out of all of Piper’s novels to date. It’s a sharp, biting, acerbic, sardonic, ironic, self-deprecating humour that elevates both the story and the characters.
But the most important aspect of the story is undoubtedly Piper shining a light upon women of a certain age who are often dismissed, underestimated or overlooked by society, the workforce and even their own families. Women with wit and wisdom, experience and empathy, women who are not afraid of hard work but would quite like, at some point, to have a smidgeon of respect, an unmouldy mattress, some stability and perhaps a nice cup of tea. Exploring themes of compassion, sacrifice, betrayal, uncertainty, struggle and economic instability, the novel also emphasises value, appreciation, connection, friendship and unexpected tenderness.
The novel includes and supports the non-profit #sharingwithfriends, an affordable co-housing project for older women with limited means, an organisation due to open the first model of this innovative project in Brisbane this year.
This story brims with personal experience and relevant research and would be a great bookclub pick to encourage discussions about women’s role in society as they age, and how to ensure they receive the housing security to which they’re entitled.