Saroo Brierley was five years old when he was separated from his family in India. His family, who were living in poverty, were unable to afford the $50 fee for him to be reunited with them. Saroo went on to live in over forty different orphanages in nine Indian states before being adopted by an Australian couple, John and Sue Brierley. After learning of his past at the age of seven, Saroo set out on a journey that would take him across continents and change the way we see ourselves.
You can't remain in a state of sheer panic and terror indefinitely, and both had run their course. Ever since, I've thought that must be why we cry: our bodies are coping with something our minds and hearts can't absorb by themselves.Saroo Brierley
My mother described her reactions better than I ever could mine: she said she was "surprised with thunder" that her boy had come back, and that the happiness in her heart was "as deep as the sea".Saroo Brierley
