Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath

by S. Shakthidharan

A fearless, tender memoir from the prize-winning writer of Counting and Cracking.

Shakthi lives with his family, in the house his great-grandparents built in Colombo, Sri Lanka, before the civil war. Carried across the seas to Australia, on the strength of his grandmother's will, this house breathes the joy and grief that has passed through generations. And it's here Shakthi writes about the people he loves, all of whom come together to form a portrait of Shakthi himself.
Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath is a story of fallibility, forgiveness and grace. It's a paean to fatherhood and family, and the love and conflicts that make us.

'Raw, unflinching, poetic and profound - an artist's journey and a son's' Shankari Chandran

'A rich exploration of the mystery of finding Australia ... I loved it' Aravind Adiga

'An intimate, tender voyage into history, hunger and home' Omar Musa

'A beautiful and powerful exploration of the intensity and immutability of being a part of a family' Alice Pung

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2025

Reviews

[Jessie Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reduced me to tears and then built me back up over and over again. A gem so generously shared with all of us, especially those like myself who are part of a very complex south asian diaspora in Australia. Captivating writing - raw, beautiful, poignant and hopeful. I couldn’t put this book down

[Brendan Crozier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shakthi and I are best friends. So, this is hardly an objective independent review.
We met in year 7, so a lot of the characters and events in the story are known to me. Nevertheless, there was a lot that I didn't know. As a teenager (especially a boy), you go to school with someone and know so much about what they are interested in, what they think about the world, what Magic the Gathering cards they own. But perhaps you don't know so much about their interior lives. Or the lives lived behind closed doors. Or the context of what came before (to be honest, I don't think Shakthi knew a lot of that until he researched and wrote it).
This book is honest. There are themes we have discussed over so many years, about family, acceptance, love, values, and the people we create of ourselves and others as we grow. Shakthi has always been a remarkable person, and has worked hard to become a remarkable artist. Whilst this book is a memoir, it also has a lot to share about the many many difficult choices we all have to make in life, and how they build to character... or not.
It's unlikely that this book will mean as much to you as it does to me, but it's still a great Australian read; accessible, relevant, insightful and instructive. Well worth the investment of your time.

[Jade Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I’ve read all year.

This book is beautiful, moving, honest, engaging. Poetic and poignant.

A story of a young man and father who looks back at his family’s story to make sense of his own.

Highly recommend.

[Rohan Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yessss so story

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful story, gripping, heart warming and beautifully written. Told around the trauma of a family's relocation from Sri Lanka to Australia.