Belonging: A Journey of Love by Sonia Gandhi

 

A SURPRISING, RICHLY TOLD MEMOIR THAT SEAMLESSLY WEAVES THE PERSONAL WITH THE POLITICAL TO TELL A RIVETING STORY: OF LOVE, OF FAMILY, AND OF AN ENDLESSLY FASCINATING COUNTRY, INDIA.

 

How did a girl from a small village in Italy rise as a politician in India and become known around the world?

 

Belonging begins in Cambridge, England, where in 1965 Sonia Maino, a nineteen-year-old student, falls in love at first sight with the handsome, dark-eyed young man she’s destined to marry: Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first Prime Minister.

 

In this book, the once famously reticent Sonia Gandhi opens up with warmth and candour to tell the story of her remarkable life, from her childhood in post-war Veneto; to the romance that brings her to India; to the shattering losses that will reshape not only her own future but also that of her adopted home.

 

We witness Sonia’s introduction to her formidable mother-in-law, Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi, India’s first female Prime Minister. We see Sonia gain confidence by Rajiv’s side, as she adjusts to the sounds and sights of her new home – learning to speak Hindi, to wear saris, to relish spicy cuisine.