GATHER UP YOUR WORLD IN ONE LONG BREATH

Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath is a fearless, tender memoir – and Shakthi’s debut book.

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.

Published by Powerhouse Publishing and distributed by Thames and Hudson. 

Australia and New Zealand: available from your local bookseller or Amazon.
Overseas: available from Amazon or from Gertrude and Alice for delivery to anywhere in the world. 

‘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

Accompanying this memoir will be a year-long program of artworks, performance and readings by S. Shakthidharan. This foundational program will mark the opening of Powerhouse Parramatta in 2026 – a living archive for a new museum.