Saroo Brierley

About Saroo

Saroo Brierley's story is one of the most extraordinary in modern Australian life. At five years old, he boarded a train alone in rural India, fell asleep, and woke up in Calcutta — 1,600 kilometres from home. He spent weeks on the streets before being taken into care and eventually adopted by a Tasmanian family. Twenty-five years later, he used Google Earth to trace the route of that train journey and find his birth family, reuniting with his mother and siblings in a story that gripped the world.

The film version of his memoir, Lion, was a global success and introduced his story to millions. But what Saroo brings to the speaker's stage is something the film can only gesture at: the lived experience of navigating two identities, two countries, and the long aftermath of finding what had been lost. His talks are deeply personal, told with humility and a quiet power that leaves audiences genuinely moved.

For conferences and events where the brief calls for a story that changes the room — that reminds people of what human connection and perseverance really look like — Saroo Brierley is an unmatched choice. His singular narrative carries themes of identity, belonging, resilience and the search for home that resonate with people from every background.