Ratings6
Average rating4.7
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 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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More like 3 1/2 stars, but I'm rounding up with this one. Mostly because this story has heart.
It's a an unimaginable, yet remarkable story that a 5 year old could survive all that he did by luck or fate or a combination of the two and then come out on the other side as a well adjusted and positive adult.
It was the actual writing that I had some small issues with. Obviously writing is not the author's career but he did a great job of explaining to the reader his emotions and where his mind was at. That being said, I think the story would have benefited if a collaborative writer had been involved. Someone who has more experience with story and sentence structure and pacing. Someone to explain that pages of talking about using google earth gets boring and repetitious.
I did appreciate the various photos and maps that were included, as they gave me reference points.
So over all an enjoyable memoir, that could have done a few minor improvements.