Powerful and Moving: Read our Review of Lioness by Sue Brierley

A powerful and moving account of adopting the boy who inspired the motion picture Lion.

Saroo Brierley’s journey home to a small village in India with the help of Google Earth became an internationally bestselling book and inspired the major motion picture Lion. But the story of how his adoptive mother, Sue, came into his life half a world away in Tasmania is every bit as riveting.

In this uplifting and deeply personal book, Sue reveals for the first time her own traumatic childhood. The daughter of a violent alcoholic whose business gambles left her family destitute, she grew up in geographic and emotional isolation. When Sue married, and broke free of her father, she was determined to also sever the cycle of despair, and made the selfless decision not to have a biological child. Instead, inspired by a vision she’d had as a young girl, she chose to adopt two children in need – Saroo and Mantosh. Little did she imagine that twenty-five years later she would be portrayed on screen by another Australian mother who chose to adopt – Nicole Kidman.

Like countless other people, I was transfixed by Saroo Brierley’s story, as told on 60 Minutes, in his book The Long Way Home, and in the film adaptation of the novel, Lion. When I saw that his mother, Sue, had written her own book, I’ll admit that I did wonder ‘what else can be said about this?’.

Turns out, quite a lot. Sue Brierley’s own story is just as fascinating and emotional to read. While she certainly writes about Saroo tracking down his biological family, and her experience with both that and his telling of the story publicly, the book isn’t just Saroo – it’s much more.

Lioness starts with Sue’s backstory and own family, including her alcoholic father. She marries quite young and it’s sixteen years before she ‘has’ her own child. Determined to do things differently in her own family, Sue and her husband John adopt their first son Saroo from an orphanage in Calcutta, India. I was mesmerised by this part of the book. Her immediate and intense love for Saroo is evident, and their relationship deep and profound.

A few years later, they welcome Mantosh into the family, and the experience is very different. It’s a raw, honest read about her love for Mantosh and the difficulty his issues brought to their tight-knit family.

Moving and inspiring, Lioness explores the myth of motherhood, how families are formed in many ways, and how love and perseverance can bring us together. It’s a fascinating read, and one I couldn’t put down.