Sonia Gandhi to Release Memoir on November 10
Sonia Gandhi is set to share her life story in a new memoir titled “Belonging: A Journey of Love,” which will be released on November 10. The book will explore both the joys and challenges she faced after marrying into the prominent Nehru-Gandhi political family of India and her journey in public service.
The announcement was made by Alfred A. Knopf, who will publish the memoir. In a statement about the book, Sonia Gandhi expressed that while much has been documented about her family, many of those stories fail to capture their true motivations, actions, and human flaws. She hopes her memoir will honor their humanity and offer readers a fresh perspective on the social and political changes in India over the last sixty years.
At 79 years old, Sonia Gandhi, originally from Italy, met her future husband, Rajiv Gandhi, while they were both students at Cambridge University. Rajiv is the grandson of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the son of Indira Gandhi, the country’s first female prime minister.
In “Belonging,” Sonia recounts the heartbreak she experienced when her mother-in-law was assassinated in 1984, leading to Rajiv’s rise as prime minister, only for him to be killed seven years later. Following these tragedies, she ventured into politics herself, eventually becoming the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress Party. She notably declined her party’s offer to serve as prime minister after they lost power to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in 2014.
Sonia reflected on how personal loss propelled her into public life, stating, “Before that, I had always protected my privacy.” Writing her memoir has been a challenging journey for her. She mentioned that sharing her past and experiences felt daunting, but as she stepped back from politics, she began to recognize the threads of love and loyalty that have defined her life—from her early days in Italy to her complex experiences in India as Rajiv Gandhi’s wife and Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law.
The Nehru-Gandhi family remains influential in Indian politics, with Sonia Gandhi’s children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, serving as members of the Indian Parliament for the Congress party.
