Sonali Deraniyagala
Born1964 (age 59–60)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Economist, memoirist
Spouses
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    (died 2004)​
  • ​
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    (m. 2018)​
Children2

Sonali Deraniyagala (born 1964) is a Sri Lankan memoirist and economist.[1] She currently serves as a lecturer in Economics at the SOAS South Asia Institute. She considers Joan Didion and Michael Ondaatje her favourite literary heroes.[2]

Personal life

She was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka,[3] to lawyer (Justin) Edward Pieris Deraniyagala and Gemini Deraniyagala.[4][5][6] Other members of the Deraniyagala family include the civil servant and historian Sir Paul Edward Pieris Deraniyagala Samarasinha Sriwardhana, the artist Justin Pieris Deraniyagala, and the zoologist Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala.[7][8]

In 1990, she married economist Dr Stephen Lissenburgh (1964-2004), who "made large contributions to British public policy research".[9]

While on vacation at Sri Lanka's Yala National Park in December 2004, she lost her husband,[10] their two sons, her parents, her best friend, and her best friend's mother in the Indian Ocean tsunami.[11] The tsunami carried her two miles inland and she was able to survive by clinging to a tree branch.[12][13][14] She reportedly suffered unconsciousness and internal bleeding. Following the tsunami, she was taken to her aunt's house in Colombo. There, she stayed beneath the covers of her cousin’s bed, hoarding sleeping pills for comfort and solace; she attempted to stab herself with a butter knife and smashed her head on the sharp corner of the wooden headboard of the bed in reaction to the trauma of the tsunami.[15][16] She attempted to commit suicide and also began using alcohol in a bid to forget the tragedy.[17]

She went to New York at the end of 2006 to begin a new life after the trauma of the tsunami. Moving to New York, she chose a small apartment in Greenwich Village.[3] She was convinced by her therapist who suggested her to write down her painful memories to make her relax from the trauma.

She started dating the actress Fiona Shaw in 2018 after years of dating men only; the couple got married after Sonali proposed to her a few months later.[18][19][20]

Career

She studied economics at Cambridge University and has a doctorate from the University of Oxford. She is on the faculty of the Department of Economics at SOAS, University of London and is a research scholar at Columbia University in New York City. She lives in New York City, and London.[21]

Post the tsunami, Deraniyagala relocated to New York where she became a visiting research scholar at Columbia University. Her 2013 memoir, Wave, recounts her experiences in the tsunami and the progression of her grief in the ensuing years.[22][23] Sonali began writing her memoir Wave in 2010, where she describes her personal experiences in the aftermath of the tsunami and how she coped with it.[24][22] The book became an instant hit and much to Sonali's surprise, it became one of the most sought-after memoirs globally. It was shortlisted for the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award (Autobiography)[25][26] and won the PEN Ackerley Prize 2013.[27] This book is currently used as a prose passage in the education system (O/Level) for English Literature in Sri Lanka.[28]

She has also expressed her concerns, insights and opinions about the 2019–present Sri Lankan economic crisis to various platforms.[29]

References

  1. ↑ Mother who lost everyone, The Evening Standard, 11 January 2005 by Lech Mintowt-Czyz Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Writing to remember | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  3. 1 2 Neary, Lynn (5 March 2013). "'Wave' Tells A True Story Of Survival And Loss In The 2004 Tsunami". NPR.
  4. ↑ ONeill, Sean (2023-07-31). "Hope fades for holiday family". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  5. ↑ "Tsunami took my family". Times Series. 2005-01-13. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  6. ↑ "Eloquent advocate, lover of wildlife and the complete gentleman". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  7. ↑ http://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2009/08/16/mon16.asp
  8. ↑ Sinhalese Families, P. E. Pieris, Colombo Apothecaries Co., 1911
  9. ↑ "Stephen Lissenburgh". The Independent. 2005-01-20. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  10. ↑ Cole, Teju (28 March 2013). "A Better Quality of Agony". The New Yorker.
  11. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Kanya King; Life after the tsunami; Cervical cancer tests and screening; Bank notes, Sonali Deraniyagala". BBC. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  12. ↑ Adams, Tim (9 March 2013). "The tsunami survivor who lost her whole family". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Mahendra, Sachitra. "The word that made waves". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  14. ↑ "Yala's tribute to two boys who loved its wilds". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  15. ↑ "'Tsunami' Sonali finds love and bliss marrying 'Potter' actress Fiona Shaw". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  16. ↑ Deraniyagala, Sonali. ""It was unimaginable. Only I survived": Sonali Deraniyagala on losing her family in the Boxing Day tsunami". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  17. ↑ "CATASTROPHIC LOSS CLEAVES LIFE INTO Z 'BEFORE' AND AN AFTER - News Features | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  18. ↑ Calkin, Jessamy (2019-05-24). "Killing Eve's secret weapon Fiona Shaw on finding new fame, and falling in love at almost 60". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  19. ↑ Hogan, Michael (3 March 2019). "Fiona Shaw: 'I'm delighted to be in with the young crowd!'". The Observer. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  20. ↑ Edmonds, Lizzie (2020-06-19). "Fiona Shaw: I wasn't ready to marry until later in life". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  21. ↑ Sonali Deraniyagala, Biography, retrieved 29 October 2014
  22. 1 2 Alston, T. A. (2017-05-03). "A "Wave" Comes Calling". The JT Lit Review. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  23. ↑ Strayed, Cheryl (22 March 2013). "Washed Away". The New York Times.
  24. ↑ "Book review: Wave, a Memoir of Life After the Tsunami". South China Morning Post. 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  25. ↑ Kirsten Reach (January 14, 2014). "NBCC finalists announced". Melville House Publishing. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Announcing the National Book Critics Awards Finalists for Publishing Year 2013". National Book Critics Circle. January 14, 2014. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  27. ↑ Ziemer, Julia. "Sonali Deraniyagala wins PEN/Ackerley Prize 2014". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "My family died in a tsunami I know Indonesia can recover too – with help". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  29. ↑ "The human dimension to Sri Lanka's economic crisis". Himal Southasian. 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
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