Velocity : A Memoir

A moving, tender and compelling story about a life lived on the edges of society, of poverty, of certainty, of love.

Velocity tells the moving, painful but often hilarious story of Mandy Sayer's childhood and adolescence, a life lived on the edges - of society, of poverty, of certainty, of love. Filled with beautifully realised descriptions of life seen through a child's eyes - a child who gradually comes to realise her adored parents are all too tragically flawed and broken - Velocity packs the emotional impact of Angela's Ashes with the surreal humour and razor-sharp observations of Running With Scissors.
Against a vivid backdrop of smoky jazz bars, steamy beer gardens and a succession of lino-floored dosshouses, Sayer brings into focus those moments when the child's world and the adult world intersect, when illusions are shattered and understanding begins. Unflinchingly honest, startlingly brave and written with a clear-eyed, lyrical grace, Velocity is an ultimately uplifting story of struggle and faith against terrifying odds.

About the Author

Mandy Sayer won the Australian-Vogel Award at age 26 for her first novel Mood Indigo. Since then she has published five works of fiction and two anthologies, and has been named by the Sydney Morning Herald as one of Australia's Best Young Novelists. Her first memoir, Dreamtime Alice, won the 2000 National Biography Award, Australian Audio Book of the Year, the New England Booksellers' Award in the U.S., and was translated into several European languages. Her second memoir, Velocity, won the 2006 South Australian Premier's Award and The Age Book of the Year for Non-Fiction. Her most recent work of non-fiction is Coco: Autobiography of my Dog. She lives in Sydney with her husband, writer Louis Nowra, and their two dogs, Coco and Basil.