Catching the wrong train, sometimes, takes you to the right station.
Saroo Brierley was born in a small Indian town. In 1986, aged only 5, he lost all contact with his family when he was separated from his brother at a train station. He never saw his brother again.
Background: After living on the streets of Calcutta for 3 weeks by himself, Saroo was placed in a local orphanage before being adopted by an Australian family. He grew up with his new parents in Hobart, Tasmania for the next 25 years. But he was unable, and unwilling, to forget the land of his childhood.
Determined to rediscover his past, he embarked on a virtual odyssey of his homeland and, after many hours pouring over Google Earth, armed only the images etched into his memories as a 5 year old, he managed to recognise his home town, and track down his mother.
Author: Their reunion in 2012 made headlines across the world, and his full story is recounted in his #1 international bestselling autobiography, A Long Way Home.
Film: The film Lion, based on his autobiography was released in November 2016 and nominated for four Golden Globe and six Academy Awards. The film stars Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel.
Saroo’s is a remarkable and touching story of survival and sheer determination.
Talking Points
A Long Way Home
A Long Way Home
Video
Saroo Brierley: Homeward Bound
For more than a quarter century, Saroo Brierley searched for his family before finding his way back home with the help of #GoogleEarth. Watch the incredible true story of hope, determination and technology.Lion Trailer - Dev Patel stars as Saroo Brierley
Saroo Brierley’s is a remarkable story of survival and sheer determination culminating in an intensely moving reuniting with his mother. The film Lion, based on his autobiography, is scheduled to be released in January 2017. It stars Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel.Saroo was a very genuinely sincere speaker, he had the audience captured from the first moment. ... keep reading Royal Hobart Hospital Research
Saroo Brierley was an excellent speaker and his inspirational story was very well received by our clients. They particularly enjoyed the Q&A component of Saroo’s address - his openness, honesty and heart-felt non-scripted answers. Saroo was a pleasure to work with, he communicated clearly with us and he was very happy to accommodate our ideas. We would definitely recommend him as a keynote speaker!
Saroo is very engaging. He totally holds his audience. He is very generous with his time and everyone warmed to him.
Amazing human, amazing speaker. Never met someone so famous but yet so humble. His speech made so many people cry, but also gave them a strong message of “not giving up.”
