But as a boy grows into a man, times change and perspectives shift, and a chance for reconciliation emerges from the space between. Here, in lyrical prose, Hochschild recounts his privileged upbringing at his familyвЂ™s estate in the Adirondacks, his coming-of-age in the tumultuous 1960s, and his enduringly conflicted relationship with his father. It offers more information about both his birth and adoptive families, and on the page, is even more awe-inspiring and courageous.A New York Times Notable Book: вЂњAn extraordinarily moving portrait of the complexities and confusions of familial loveвЂќ (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times).ДЇrom the author of King LeopoldвЂ™s Ghost, Half the Way Home is a compelling memoir about a complicated father-son relationship.ДЄdam Hochschild never used the words вЂњDadвЂќ or вЂњDaddy,вЂќ just вЂњFather.вЂќ The only son of Harold Hochschild-the head of a multinational mining corporation-Adam always felt as though his father remained purposefully at a distance-a demanding, immovable pillar to be respected and sometimes feared. It is reported that 80,000 children go missing in India each year, and despite the pitiless indifference and some sinister near-misses he encountered on the streets, Saroo has been left with a sincere belief in the goodness of people, and the importance of seizing opportunities.ДЄ Long Way Home is as broadly appealing and crowd-pleasing as Lion вЂ“ the new Oscar-nominated adaptation starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. Against all odds, heвЂ™s eventually reunited with his long-lost family after tracing his hometown on Google Earth вЂ“ a feat that made global headlines. Yet he never forgets India or fully moves on. When attempts to establish his identity fail, he passes through a frightening juvenile home into the care of a adoption agency, ISSA, before being flown to his adoptive parents in Tasmania вЂ“ Sue and John Brierley.ДЇrom the impoverished child with broken teeth and a heart murmour, Saroo grows into a healthy and amiable adult, a вЂњproud TassieвЂќ. He spends three weeks on the streets until a stranger takes him to a police station. (It later turns out he was mispronouncing even his first name вЂ“ his name is actually Sheru, or вЂLionвЂ™ in Hindi.) Saroo speaks Hindi, and is unable toВ pronounce the name of his town or his last name.

Saroo stumbles onto a waiting train and goes back to sleep.Д¬hildhood memory can be unreliable, but suffice to say Saroo finds himself alone and trapped on a moving train, carrying him 1,500km east (he will later learn) to the megacity of Kolkata. When he wakes up, it is dark, and Guddu has vanished. One time with his eldest brother Guddu, an exhausted Saroo is left to nod off on a bench on a railway platform. The little boy loves flying kites, chasing butterflies and tagging behind his brothers as they hustle for food and money. SarooвЂ™s mother is warm and kindhearted, and neighbours in the dry, dusty central Indian town seem to watch out for each other. Despite this hardship, Saroo is lucky вЂ“ his family are poor, but they are, Saroo will recall, вЂњreasonably happyвЂќ. With no father at home, their mother works on construction sites, carrying rocks on her head in the baking heat. SarooвЂ™s streetwise big brothers, Guddu and Kallu, take care of each other and little Saroo. He washes and feeds her, and plays games of peekaboo. In 1980s India, five-year-old Saroo, like many small children in poor communities, looks afterВ aВ younger sibling he has special responsibility for hisВ baby sister Shekila.

A long way home a memoir