Saroo Brierley's Memoir, A Long Way Home

Imagine not knowing where you were born and where your family lives. Imagine living your whole life having memories of your past life and family, but not knowing what happened to them. And imagine if one click could change your whole life in many ways. These were the struggles and situations of Saroo, a young boy who lived in India and eventually got lost, and when growing up, was adopted by an Australian family. Many of the actions that Saroo made in his life influenced greatly on shaping his identity and future. If Saroo never went to the train station with Guddu, his future would have been completely different. Throughout Saroo Brierley’s Memoir, A Long Way Home, the author demonstrates that actions greatly impact one’s future by the use of vivid imagery and flashbacks.

Imagery consists of descriptive words and phrases that recreate sensory experiences for the reader.

Imagery usually uses one or more of the five senses- sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. This helps the reader imagine exactly what is happening in the story. In the memoir, when Saroo was searching for his home on the laptop, he reminisces, “When I saw that the track crossed a gorge just on the edge of the built-up area, I was flooded with adrenaline- I remembered in a flash that the train I took with my brothers traveled on a small bridge over a gorge like that before pulling into the station” (Brierley 174). You can vividly see this event in your mind by seeing Saroo with his siblings on the train pulling into the Berhampur train station. This is also important because this is how Saroo found his home, which impacted his

future.
Brierley’s use of flashbacks helps the reader vividly understand the story of Saroo’s journey through India and his early life in Australia. The night when Saroo left with Guddu to go to Berhampur, he states, “Guddu announced that he was leaving- going back to Berhampur… I jumped up and said, “I’m coming with you”” (Brierley 44) This quote is important because if he had never agreed to go with Guddu, his whole situation would have never happened. His actions in deciding to go with Guddu was very important and all the events that came after led to where he is now today. This also shows Saroo’s identity because he was brave enough to do anything, and that helped him in his future, like for example when he was brave enough to go back to his hometown to see his family again.