Writing About My Life Did Not Come Naturally

Sonia Gandhi's memoir, "Belonging: un viaggio d'amore, will be published in Italy by Rizzoli, with the U.S. release set for November 10. In the book, Gandhi, one of the world's most prominent political leaders, weaves her dramatic personal story with the history of India, a country she describes as endlessly fascinating. Gandhi opens up for the first time in these pages, from her childhood in a small Piedmont town to the love story that led her to India, and the devastating losses that would change her future and that of her adopted homeland. "Sonia Gandhi is one of the great Italians of our era.

In this book, for the first time, she has set aside her reserve to tell a personal and public story of surprising richness and drama, said Massimo Turchetta, General Director of Rizzoli. "We are happy and honored that she chose Rizzoli as the publisher of her memoirs in her country of origin. The memoir covers her studies in Cambridge, England, where in 1965, as a 19-year-old Italian student, Sonia Maino met the young man she would marry in 1968: Rajiv Gandhi.

It also recounts her encounter with her formidable mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, the first woman to serve as prime minister of India, her daily life alongside her husband, and the birth of their two children. The narrative extends to the tragedies that marked her life, her family, and her adopted country, leading her, after long reflection, to enter political life and become the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress Party. These include the death of Rajiv's brother Sanjay in a plane crash, the brutal assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 by her bodyguards in her garden, her husband's assumption of the prime ministership after his mother's death, and his own tragic death seven years later, killed by a suicide bomber.

"It was grief and loss that threw me into the public world of politics. Until then, I had fiercely defended my privacy. Writing about my life did not come naturally to me.

It meant opening up, sharing moments and experiences I had always kept deep within, Gandhi writes. "Yet, as I gradually stepped away from the political sphere and looked back at everything I had seen, the thread of love and loyalty running through my story began to reveal itself, from the simplicity of my childhood in an Italian town to the complexity of my years in India as the wife of Rajiv Gandhi and daughter-in-law of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. "I wanted this memoir to be a testament to my heart's journey through the tenderness, joy, and darkest despair that have marked my life.

Much has been written about my family, but few accounts have managed to penetrate the truth of its motivations, its actions, and even its deeply human weaknesses. In many ways, this book is a tribute to the humanity of the people I have known and loved. My story also offers readers a unique perspective on the social and political changes I have witnessed over six decades in this beautiful country that I feel is mine, she adds.