The meaning of bittersweet is something pleasant but simultaneously painful. I was astonished reading the story of a lost boy who defied all odds beyond belief. Saroo Brierley, the author of A Long Way Home, managed to find his mother after not seeing her for twenty-five years. Although being absent from his mother’s life, Saroo encountered positive experiences that led him to what he is today. I think that the meaning of “bittersweet” can have a more positive outcome on oneself. One of Saroo’s bittersweet moments is when he was taken care of by a teenager that found Saroo in the streets and was sent to Liluah, a juvenile detention center. Saroo mentioned, “I didn’t know it then, but in fact, as literally as the homeless man by the river had, the teenager had saved my life.” (pg. 86). “Had I stayed on the street, there’s every chance I wouldn’t be alive today” (pg. 87). Although Saroo was taken to a strict juvenile shelter, Saroo would have never been taken care of by Mrs. Sood and be adopted by the Brierley family if the teenager did not report him to the authorities. Saroo would have been lost in the streets of Calcutta, possibly get hurt, and even die. A bittersweet moment is when Saroo saw his entire family…show more content… He quotes, “Had I not become lost... my life would have been hugely different… my family would not have endured the heartbreak of a missing son on top of the tragic death of another, and I would not have known the pain of separation…” (pg. 270). “…I have nothing but admiration for their [adoptive parents] commitment to helping others who are less fortunate” (pg. 271). The bitter part of what happened in Saroo’s life was the separation from his biological family, but the satisfying aspect of these events is his adoption by a caring, loving family. Saroo’s adoptive family led him to be an educated person and to have a successful
