People Like Us

 People Like Us

Reviewed By  Nan van Dissel       September 17, 2026

 

Author  Sally Piper

Distributor:      University of Queensland Press
ISBN:                 978-0702271199
Publisher:         University of Queensland Press
Release Date:   30 June 2026  

   Website:   https://www.uqp.com.au/books/people-like-us

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Life for 55-year-old Tina Lamb married mother of four adult children, unexpectedly changed dramatically, when she divorced; she discovered that her feckless husband had squandered their savings and had left her almost penniless with only just enough money to purchase an old caravan and secure long-term tenancy at a ramshackle caravan park; one step up from homelessness. This is a very real situation for many women in Australia.

Sally Piper has sensitively written this insightful book from the perspective of Tina, a stay-at-home wife, who after firstly having raised her four children and then cared for her sick mother, has no documented skills; volunteering and unpaid caring work aren’t greatly valued by today’s employers.  Not afraid of hard work, she is able to eke out a subsistence existence by undertaking two minimal wage part time casual jobs. 

Luckily when her hours are cut, her friend is able to recommend her for a demanding but cash in hand companion-carer position with the elderly rich, but cantankerous retired teacher Mrs. Bell. Not only does Tina’s world widen but her developing relationship with Mrs. Bell surprises them both.

I highly recommended this thought provoking, ` well written book, which provides readers with a greater understanding of middle-class women, like Tina, who finding themselves in impoverished circumstances, which are in vast contrast to their accustomed life style, and who are reluctant to accept their new situation but who ultimately come to self-acceptance. Some readers will identify with Tina, as according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics there has been a 30% rise in homelessness in her demographic over the past five years.

Fiction, General