People Like Us
by Sally Piper

Brave, compassionate and humorous, People Like Us is a novel about the very best kind of friendships

A$34.99

Ships on 30/06/2026

Overview

After Tina Lamb loses her family home in a bitter divorce, she finds herself living in a caravan on the city’s fringes. Having raised four children and nursed her dying mum, she was not anticipating making a new start alone or from scratch. And while some of her new neighbours are welcoming, she soon finds herself getting far more attention than she bargained for.

When Tina finds work caring for a wealthy elderly woman, it is a welcome break from an ageist, sexist job market. But Mrs Bell is anything but predictable. Highly educated, acerbic and intimidating, she is not the straightforward charge that Tina had hoped for. As the two women form an unlikely friendship, they soon discover that financial security is about more than having money.

Topical and absorbing, People Like Us celebrates the power of female friendships and the promise of new beginnings found in unexpected places.

Details

Jane Harper

‘A beautiful story of friendship and family. Packed with nuance and warmth, People Like Us explores the true value of connections, at any age.’

Kristina Olsson

‘One of Australia’s best and most acute observers of the lives of women.’

Karen Viggers

‘Big-hearted, full of compassion and dark humour, People Like Us zeroes in on women’s invisible sacrifices for family. Tina Lamb is one woman and every woman. Her voice rings vivid, clear and convincing, giving life to the vulnerability and fragility of existence on the knife-edge of poverty. Brave, hopeful, and vibrant – a call to empathy and understanding. You will love this book.’

Susan Davies, Co-Founder and President of Sharing with Friends Foundation

‘Heartwarming and ruefully funny, People Like Us is a story of struggle, and also one of resilience, restored dignity and hope.’

Jacinta Parsons

‘Piper gives a tender voice to the voiceless women in this country. A beautifully observed, heartbreakingly real story about vulnerability, and a woman's courage to find herself when she has been lost. It's a story that might be written about any one of us.’

Anita Heiss

‘People Like Us is a universal story of true friendship ... our joy of storytelling, our need for companionship and the kindness of neighbours is essential to our shared humanity in the global village.’

Sally Piper

Sally Piper is the author of three novels: Grace’s Table (2014); The Geography of Friendship (2018), which was shortlisted for the ABIA Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year; and Bone Memories (2022), a finalist in the Queensland Literary Awards for a Work of State Significance and the People’s Choice Book of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and a Davitt Award. Her short fiction and non-fiction have been published in Australia and the UK, including in Griffith Review, The Saturday Paper, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Weekend Australian. Sally holds a Master of Arts (Research) in Creative Writing from Queensland University of Technology. She is an active member of the Queensland writing community, where she presents workshops, leads in-conversations and mentors other writers.