First it was a media sensation. Then it became the #1 international bestseller A Long Way Home. Now it’s Lion, the major motion picture starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, and Rooney Mara—nominated for six Academy Awards! This is the miraculous and triumphant story of Saroo Brierley, a young man who used Google Earth to rediscover his childhood life and home in an incredible journey from India to … home in an incredible journey from India to Australia and back again…
At only five years old, Saroo Brierley got lost on a train in India. Unable to read or write or recall the name of his hometown or even his own last name, he survived alone for weeks on the rough streets of Calcutta before ultimately being transferred to an agency and adopted by a couple in Australia.
Despite his gratitude, Brierley always wondered about his origins. Eventually, with the advent of Google Earth, he had the opportunity to look for the needle in a haystack he once called home, and pore over satellite images for landmarks he might recognize or mathematical equations that might further narrow down the labyrinthine map of India. One day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for and set off to find his family.
A Long Way Home is a moving, poignant, and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. It celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit: hope.
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I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but when I stumbled upon the story of Saroo Brierly and learned he had written a book, I immediately checked it out through my local library. The book didn’t disappoint.
In 1986, five-year-old Saroo lived in India along with his family—his mother, two older brothers, and a younger sister. Abandoned by their father, they lived in poverty. His mother worked hard to support her family, but there was never enough to go around, and they often went hungry. The older brothers picked up work whenever they could and Saroo was often left to care for his little sister.
Despite the hardships, they were a close family. On a rare occasion when all gathered for dinner, Saroo accompanied his older brother where they boarded a train to “Berampur.” When they got off at the station, Guddu told Saroo to wait and that “he would be back in a little while.”
Guddu never returned. Somewhat panicked (what would you expect from a five-year-old) Saroo boarded a train in hopes to find his brother or get back home. Instead, he found himself in a locked car and traveled to the city of Calcutta (now) Kolkota. There he wandered the streets for three weeks before being placed in an orphanage.
Uneducated and unable to communicate the name of his home, he was willingly placed for adoption. A couple in Australia adopted him, and he grew up in a loving home in Tasmania. He loved his “Mum and Dad,” but Saroo often wondered about his family in India. As an adult, he began a painstaking search for his hometown using Google Earth images. Twenty-five years later, he found his home and eventually his family.
A Long Way Home is a story of courage, hope, and a reminder that we should never give up our dreams.
Note: I have both read the book, A Long Way Home, and saw the movie, Lion. This review is based on the book.
Saroo Brierley’s memoir, A Long Way Home, is an astounding story of a little boy lost in India, a vast and often dangerous country.
Saroo’s family was poor. His father had abandoned the family, leaving his mother, two older brothers, Saroo, and a little sister to fend for themselves in a one-room hut. The mother worked, but the pittance she made often wasn’t enough to feed the family. The two older boys could sometimes find little jobs, but mostly they foraged and begged for food. Saroo, five years old, was often the only caretaker of his baby sister. But even Saroo would go into the neighborhood to beg or sneak food from the many vendor stalls in their poor neighborhood.
One evening in 1987 Saroo and his oldest brother took off on a borrowed bicycle and rode into the closest town. There was often food to be scavenged near the train depot. His brother temporarily ditched the bike, promising Saroo that he would be back soon. But he didn’t return. In searching for his brother, Saroo boarded a train, but the train took off 1,000 miles across India to Calcutta, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Uneducated, unable to speak the local dialect or even to remember the name of his hometown, the little boy wandered the streets, foraging for food, drinking water from a filthy river, desperately searching for safe places to sleep.
Authorities eventually placed Saroo in an orphanage and he soon was adopted by a loving Australian family. He had a good life in Tasmania, but was often haunted by his childhood memories of India and his family there. Twenty-five years later, with the help of Google Earth and a Facebook group, he was able to put enough of his memory fragments together to figure out where he had come from and possibly find his family.
A Long Way Home is a remarkable, well-written memoir. Brierley tells his story without fanfare, but with gratitude for all who helped him along the way. His memoir is an inspirational story of determination and hope.
Very interesting
As I read this, I thought it was the best book I’ve read in a decade–and I read several a month!!! LOVED IT.
The true adventures of one very lucky child who finds himself lost in India and eventually is adopted by Australians and through determination finds away to trace and reunite with his birth mother in India.
I was pleased to read Saroo’s story and the family who adopted him and supported him in his quest to find his blood family. Well done to all
Incredible true account of survival by a young child on the streets of India. Born into a state of poverty that we can merely imagine, he was separated from his older brother on a train going across India and survived alone on the dangerous streets until, by the Grace of God, he was adopted by a loving family on another continent. This book is exceptional; I recommend it to everybody, young and old.
Incredible story of a young boy’s journey
I liked this book . . . true life stories are worthy reads. Was good to learn about a life so very different from mine and how situations were dealt with.
I loved this story! True Story… it was unbelievable yet, obviously, believable because it really happened. You must read this! Excellent job of relaying a painful event (events)…
This is a fascinating story of how a young man finds his birth family years after being lost at a train station and being adopted by a couple from another nation. I did have to question how he remembered in such detail his life before the age of five.
great everyone should read it.
I was saddened by the abject poverty in which much of Indian villagers live. 80,000 children going missing is significant/ and worthy of attention-
I felt so terrible for this child through the whole story. That poor child!!!! Great book and story and many blessings for your strength.
Moved too slow
Excellent book
Wonderful book. Didn’t want to stop reading.
Excellent read.
Glad he had such a good life and his families met.
Excellent