Gandhi introduced herself on Instagram through the account @soniagandhi. “Hello everyone, I’m truly grateful to share this moment with you all; the first look of Belonging: A Journey of Love,” Gandhi wrote in her first post. “It is a story of love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong. I look forward to sharing it with you.”
What is Sonia Gandhi’s memoir about?
Belonging: A Journey of Love begins in Cambridge, England, in 1965, when Sonia Maino, then a 19-year-old student, met Rajiv Gandhi. They married in 1968, after which she moved to India and began a new life in the country.
According to the publisher’s description, the memoir explores her transition from life in Italy to becoming part of the Nehru-Gandhi family. It covers her introduction to her mother-in-law and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, as well as her efforts to adapt to Indian life and culture.
The narrative also revisits the personal tragedies that shaped her life, including Sanjay Gandhi’s death in a plane crash in 1980, Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991.
Gandhi has previously written about her family, but the new memoir is being presented as a more personal account of her life and experiences. In an earlier statement released by Knopf, she said much had been written about her family, but few narratives had captured the motivations, actions and human failings of its members.
“It was heartbreak and loss that threw me into the public world of politics. Up till then I had guarded my privacy fiercely,” she said.
The book also reflects on the political and social changes Gandhi has witnessed in India over six decades. The publisher describes it as a personal story of love, family and identity that also offers an insider’s perspective on the country’s journey.
Why is Sonia Gandhi’s memoir in focus?
The memoir’s Indian release attracted attention before its publication after Penguin Random House India, which had initially been expected to publish it, confirmed that it would not bring out the book in the country.
The Indian Express reported that the disagreement followed proposed editorial changes and deletions to parts of the manuscript that Gandhi’s side reportedly did not accept. Reports identified passages concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and contemporary political developments as among the areas of contention.
What did Penguin Random House say on the row?
Penguin Random House India, however, disputed the suggestion that it had withdrawn because the author refused editorial changes. The publisher said it remained willing to publish the memoir, but discussions had reached an impasse over a particular issue. It also denied that external pressure had influenced its position.
HarperCollins India subsequently secured the Indian publishing rights and announced November 10, 2026, as the release date, matching the date scheduled for the international edition from Alfred A. Knopf.