A Long Way Home: 6. My Mum's Journey Summary & Analysis

Saroo tells the reader that it’s important he explain how his parents came to the choice to adopt two children internationally, with no preference for gender, age, or circumstance. Mum was born in Tasmania to central European immigrants, both of whom emigrated after World War II. Mum’s mother, Julie, was born in Hungary to a very large family. Julie’s father left for Canada and effectively abandoned his family, and most of her older brothers served in the war. The remaining members of Julie’s family fled to Germany once Russians invaded Hungary to pursue retreating Nazis. Julie was 19 at the end of the war.

Mum’s father, Josef, was born in Poland. His mother died when he was little, and his stepmother hated him. His grandmother raised him, and because of his stepmother, he grew up hating women. Josef was a member of the Resistance in WWII, but the experience disturbed him. He eventually fled to Germany, where he met Julie. They married and had a baby by the end of the war. When they decided to leave Europe, they boarded a ship they thought was headed for Canada but ended up in Australia instead. Julie remained in Victoria for a year while Josef built houses in Tasmania, and then she joined him when he bought a farm. Mum was born in 1954, and a little sister was born a year and a half later.

Mum described Josef as being huge, powerful, and scary, as his moods could shift instantly from melancholia to blind rage. He drank vodka daily and insisted on traditional Polish meals, which Mum hated and often refused to eat. Though Josef became quite rich in the building business, he soon grew delusional, deranged, and refused to pay taxes on his properties. He lost all the family’s money this way.

Mum left school at 16 per Josef’s insistence, and she got a job as a pharmacy assistant in Burnie. She loved her independence and paid Julie for her board, while the rest of her paycheck went towards assembling a hope chest. On a lunch break one day, Mum noticed a young man from Hobart named John Brierley (Dad). He soon asked her out. He was from England, and though he’d been skeptical of Australia at first, he loved surfing and the sun so much he never went back to England. Mum’s experience with her own father soured her towards men, and it wasn’t until her older sister married that she realized that men could be kind and respectful.

A year later, Dad got a job on the mainland, but he stayed in Burnie long enough to propose and get married. They moved to Hobart, and Mum celebrated her 21st birthday in her own house several years after.

Mum was very affected by Josef’s ensuing downfall. He went bankrupt twice and was eventually sent to the lockup. An accountant cheated Josef and left him with more debt, and when Mum was 30, Josef was taken to prison, became very violent, and was transferred to a psychiatric prison. He borrowed money from a loan shark, who promptly took everything from Josef. Julie left Josef a year later, even though he threatened to kill her. Eventually, she came to live with Mum and Dad when Saroo and Mantosh were young. Josef died when Saroo was twelve, and he never met him.

In part because of the political shifts happening in Australia after the sixties, Mum and Dad were very interested in “alternative” ideas. They, like others, were worried about overpopulation and war, and these worries helped them decide to adopt children from developing countries. Mum’s upbringing taught her that there was nothing particularly special about families formed by birth parents alone. At twelve years old, Mum also experienced a vivid vision of a brown-skinned child next to her, which turned into a guiding force in her decision to adopt. Mum felt so strongly about adopting that she even admitted she may have ended her marriage had Dad not agreed.

In Tasmania at that time, state law prohibited couples who were able to conceive from adopting. Mum and Dad settled for sponsoring children overseas and otherwise enjoying their good fortune. Sixteen years later, Mum met a couple who had adopted a child and also had a biological son. She resumed her inquiry into adoption and discovered the rules had changed. Mum and Dad applied to adopt through ISSA, in part because in 1987, the childhood death toll in India was not much less than the total population of Australia.

Because Mum and Dad didn’t have a preference on age or sex, they received word that Saroo was available within weeks of turning in their application. As soon as Mum saw Saroo’s photo, he felt like hers. Three months later, he arrived in Melbourne. Mum believes that more Australians should consider adopting, and she’s very critical of the way that governments make adoption very difficult. The struggle to adopt Mantosh made her very ill, and she believes that if it weren’t so difficult, more people would do it. Saroo explains that he’s very thankful for the life his parents gave him.