The Roads They Opened: A Story Like No Other

This is a story like no other.

How does a curious little boy, who could never stop wondering what lay beyond the mountains in front of him, end up in medical school against all odds?

How did he survive amid death and destruction, through years of uncertainty when schools and universities were closed?

How did he go on to become the co-founder and chair of World Brain Day?

And how did he escape death more than once?

I am delighted to share my new book, The Roads They Opened: A Tribute, published in Kandy in November 2026.

A boy reads under a tree in a village without electricity, gazing towards the horizon. Decades later, he is a professor of neurology in Melbourne, and he goes home to say thank you.

This is the true story of the teachers who changed one life: a counsellor who said, "Come to me for anything"; a professor who walked into a computer room at just the right moment; and a Dean who mapped out a young doctor's future in two minutes.

It is also a story of elder brothers and kind strangers, of a country in turmoil, of a mother's whispered question, and of a road that keeps leading home.

The book pays tribute to Professor Nimal Senanayake, Professor Lakshman Karalliedde and Professor Indrajee Amarasinghe, and to every teacher who opens a road for someone else.

A perfect gift for your child: if you want to nurture resilience, kindness and compassion in the young people in your life, this book will inspire them to dream beyond their own mountains.

For every child who believes the odds are too long: they are long, but they are not final.

Tribute Edition | Kandy | November 2026 | ISBN 978-1-7644765-4-6

Pre-orders will be announced soon on this website. Stay tuned!

Available in English and Sinhala editions, with a Tamil edition in preparation.