Saroo Brierley

Saroo Brierley was born in 1981 in Madhya Pradesh, India. He was adopted by an Australian family at 5 years old after being separated from his biological mother. At the age of 30 he was reunited with his biological mother after many years of searching. His account of this experience was published in 2013 in the book, A Long Way Home. It was later made into the film 'Lion' in 2016 starring Dev Patel. His book unfolds the story of Saroo and his older brother Guddu becoming separated at a train station in India as they are searching for food. Saroo ends up falling asleep on a train and travels 1.500 kilometers from his hometown. His attempts to find his way home are unsuccessful and he is later adopted into an Australian family. It is years later that he is able to find his way back home with the help of Google Earth. In 2016 the film 'Lion' was released which was based on his life's journey. It was directed by Garth Davis and starred Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara.