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    Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
    Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
    Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
    Audiobook9 hours

    Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

    Written by Conor Grennan

    Narrated by Conor Grennan

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “Funny, touching, tragic….A remarkable tale of corruption, child trafficking and civil war in a far away land—and one man’s extraordinary quest to reunite lost Nepalese children with their parents.”
    —Neil White, author of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

    Little Princes is the epic story of Conor Grennan’s battle to save the lost children of Nepal and how he found himself in the process. Part Three Cups of Tea, part Into Thin Air, Grennan’s remarkable memoir is at once gripping and inspirational, and it carries us deep into an exotic world that most readers know little about.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 25, 2011
    ISBN9780062027269
    Author

    Conor Grennan

    Conor Grennan is the author of the New York Times bestselling and #1 international bestselling memoir Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal. The memoir shares Grennan’s humanitarian work as the founder of Next Generation Nepal (NGN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting trafficked children with their families in Nepal. Little Princes has been shortlisted for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, was the winner of the GoodReads 2011 Best Travel and Outdoors Award, and has been translated into 15 languages. Following publication, Grennan spoke about the book across North America and particularly enjoyed sharing his story with young people at secondary schools and colleges. For his work with the trafficked children of Nepal, Grennan was recognized by The Huffington Post as a 2011 Game Changer of the Year. In 2014, he was also named a recipient of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion, which was awarded to him by the Dalai Lama. Grennan is the dean of MBA students at the NYU Stern School of Business. Currently he resides in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife, Liz, and his two children, Finn and Lucy.

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    Reviews for Little Princes

    4.5/5

    123 ratings94 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Conor Grennan is a man who is intimately aware of the unintended consequences of decisions that we make (often for trivial reasons). Mr. Grennan chose to go to Nepal to volunteer in an orphanage for three weeks prior to embarking on a pleasure trip around the world. He figured that volunteering first would give him permission for his longer more selfish world tour, it might be something he'd enjoy, and it might aid him in picking up chicks. Win/win, right?What Mr. Grennan didn't expect was to fall in love with both Nepal and the children in the Little Princes Orphanage. Caring for and living with these children gave him new things to think about, new ideas about what to do with his life and once his world tour was done, he returned to Nepal to work with the children again.Throughout his journey he found that the orphans in Nepal weren't always orphans - often they were children rescued from human traffickers - and somewhere out there their parents had no idea where they were or what had happened to them. As a civil war rips apart the country, forcing Mr. Grennan to leave, he vows to come back and reunite these children with their families.Vividly written with stand-out characterization and descriptions of place and of his own thought process in preparing for and doing this work, this is a coming of age story in the best sense of the words. Opening his heart to these children makes Mr. Grennan a better person and enables him to make an unexpected contribution in many lives. This is an inspiring and heartfelt story and I was very glad to read it - you will be, too.
    • 4/5
      Mr. Grennan shows the reader what it means to care, really care. He not only rescued Nepali children from trafficking, but reunited them with their families at his own peril. His bravery was amazing and only out measured by his compassion. The book had the added bonus of a delightful love story.
    • 5/5
      Conor takes a three-month volunteer job at a children’s home in Nepal. Turned out to be a little longer than three months…It’s a refreshing story of someone who admits his ignorance—about children, Nepali customs, the challenges faced by that society, and the reasons behind difficult choices. But Conor learns. He grows as a person. He admits mistakes and begins again. And throughout it all, he has one goal: to help innocent children who cannot help themselves. It’s a heartwarming, truly touching story. I highly recommend it. As a bonus, part of the proceeds from the sale of the book go toward helping reunite children with their families and stopping the outrageous act of child trafficking.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed reading this book very much; in fact, I couldn't put it down. I cringed every time I had to do other trivial things such as eating or sleeping, because that would mean putting this book down for the duration. I was caught up in the story, and had to know what was going to happen next. This is a page-turner, and the author has a writing style that is easy to understand but compelling.I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be wrapped up in a story that you can't put down.
    • 4/5
      I received "Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal" from the Early Reviewers program. This is a memoir by Conor Grennan, a young man in his twenties who visited Nepal as part of his vacation but was then drawn to return and spend more time with the children he had met there. Eventually, he does what most of us wish we could/would do - he gives of himself and takes on the plight of these children as a personal struggle.Besides being inspirational, the book describes a world I knew far too little about. The book does a wonderful job of describing the terrain of Nepal, the poverty of many of its inhabitants, the trafficking of children, the effect of the war between the Maoists and the royal family of in that tiny country. I had little knowledge of Nepal and its culture, so I am grateful for what this book taught me. I only wish there had been more time given to each of the individual children.
    • 5/5
      What a great way to start the year. This book is fantastic.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic book that does a great job of incorporating humor and poignancy. Grennan presents his travels and work in Nepal with a comic grace and humbleness that is hard to resist. He is honest about the original purpose of his volunteering stint in Nepal -- to justify taking a year off of work just to travel -- which helps steer the book away from sounding preachy or holier-than-thou. You feel that you get to know the children right along with him, and they steal your heart with his. It is a quick and engaging read.
    • 5/5
      I haven't been moved by a story like I was with Conor Grennan's in a long time. Perhaps it was becasue I am a parent, but I don't think so. This well written memoir tells the story of the three plus years the author spent working in Nepal with children who were victims of child traffikers and the organization he was compelled to start, Next Generation Nepal, which works to reunite these children with their families. It is an amazing story, a kind that if written as ficiton, critics would criticize as too unbelievable. It is heart wrenching at times, more than once I found myself with tears in my eyes. But it is also a story filled with humor and determination, and hope and grace. I can only say I am so glad I read this story. Do yourself a favor and read it too.
    • 5/5
      Little Princes is a heartwarming and inspirational read. I was worried that it was going to be one of those heart-rending stories that is difficult to read, since child trafficking is such a heinous and horrendous thing. While there were parts that were sad, the overall tone of the book was hopeful and it wasn’t depressing by any means.I loved that Conor Grennan was completely honest about why he went to Nepal in the first place. While his friends were at an age where they were starting to plan financially for the future, he decided to take his savings and spend it on a trip around the world. In order to avoid criticism for his indulgence he decided to start his trip by volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal. But there was something about volunteering in a Third World orphanage at the outset of my trip that would squash any potential criticism. Who would dare begrudge me my year of fun after doing something like that? If I caught any flak for my decision to travel, I would have a devastating comeback ready, like: “Well frankly Mom, I didn’t peg you for somebody who hates orphans,” and I would make sure to say the word orphans really loudly so everybody within earshot knew how selfless I was. (Page 7)At first there was the inevitable culture shock when he faced the many lifestyle differences at the orphanage in Nepal. As he spent time with the children though, he adjusted to life there and they worked their way into his heart. He, in turn, became passionate about caring for them and reuniting them with their families.Little Princes was a joy to read, not only for the stories of the boys and Conor’s work to help them, but also for the humor with which he writes the story. I couldn’t help but smile at the antics of the children, or laugh at some of the situations that he got into. While the style of writing is conversational at times (as you can see from the passage above), it never crosses over into the realm of informality.The author’s love for the children and for Nepal are obvious throughout the book, and I liked that I learned a bit about the culture and the history of the civil war the people of Nepal went through. It was also interesting to read about how he and the French man, who also volunteered at the orphanage, adapted to the ways and thinking of the local people – learning to move within that framework.I highly recommend Little Princes as a way to get some insight into Nepal and as an introduction to the serious social issue of child trafficking. In addition it really does illustrate in a powerful way how one person can make a huge difference in the life of others if they are willing to make the effort.
    • 4/5
      I found this book to be a heartfelt story of one man's unexpected and somewhat unplanned mission to reunite children impacted by human trafficking. This is just the sort of book which should be required reading for college students to show how one determined person can make such a huge difference. I enjoyed the blending of the cultures and the description of the country, its traditions, and the people. The author included just enough background on the conflicts and politics of Nepal without overshadowing the human impact.
    • 5/5
      A truly, inspiring story of giving and receiving, and the changes each can make in one’s life as well as the lives of others. It made me want to pack my bags and head to Nepal to help Conor, Farid, and all of the others that are making a difference in the lives of so many Nepali children.Conor’s story quickly becomes personal and gripping as he goes from a simple volunteer experience that was to only last a month, before his one year trip around the world, to a mission to save seven children that were in the hands of child traffickers. He had no idea that he would fall in love and become devoted to the cause of the children of Little Princes and all the children of Nepal that have been separated from their families and homes. Conor returns to Nepal with funds and a desire to find seven children that he thought he had saved from the traffickers, when he learned that the rescuers had not arrived in time and the children had been lost once again in the maze of the underground system used to sell and re-sell the children over and over. He is able to set up another home, and then uses all his resources to locate the children and the families that they have been separated from in remote eastern villages of Nepal. Villages where there are no roads, no phones, no electricity, hanging off the sides of the mountains bordering China. After reading Conor’s harrowing descriptions of the trek to villages, I googled a map of Nepal and the village that they flew into and then went over the land they had to hike through just to get to the villages where they thought the children might have originated from. I can’t imagine having the fortitude to make that journey with so little experience, without the language to communicate, and relying on what seemed like blind faith. But that is what he did, and it was faith that brought him through under the most adverse conditions. It is so important for books like this to continue to make their way into the hands of many to show all of us that it does not take a lot to make a huge difference, maybe a life and death difference, in the lives of those who are less fortunate. It is a book that will make a difference in the way I invest in the efforts of those helping others. Thank you, Conor Grennan for sharing your experience and keep up the good work of Next Generation Nepal.
    • 5/5
      Because of the current unrest in Egypt, we can understand the issues of this book even more clearly. The uprising in Egypt and the demand for the unseating of a dictatorial leader, was peaceful, but the civil war in Nepal was not, although it did eventually unseat their king and allowed the formation of a government of sorts which included the Maoists, the very group that caused so many of the hardships and much of the deprivation in the villages. The need for change in Nepal, however, was just as desperate as in Egypt and, as always, there are unintended consequences for change. Unfortunately, years later, the country is still unsettled. Often, the group's most influential leaders, in the fight for freedom, are almost as bad, if not worse than, the former heads of state.In Little Princes, a young man, who has spent the last eight years since college working and saving his money, with few expenses and no responsibility towards anyone but himself, decides to spend his savings on a year of travel around the world. First, however, he decides he will do some volunteer work in an orphanage in Nepal, which is in the throes of a civil war. Naïve about the conditions in Nepal, he sets off to pursue his goal. This book is the tale of his experience, his adjustment and his new dream to save the children that he encounters there. It is a heartwarming, touching story about the orphans of Nepal. These children are used as pawns in transactions that betray their parents and make unscrupulous people rich and/or powerful. The book is about how he rises to the challenges before him. He does things that most of us wish we could but cannot summon up the courage.Conor spends three months volunteering in an orphanage for children who have been sold into bondage by parents who are trying to save their lives or provide them with a better future. These men prey on the ignorance and fear of the parents. When a man offers to rescue the children, they gladly pay his fee, sell their homes to do it, and hope for the best. One man, Golkka, is politically well connected and corrupt. He has been trafficking in children, in Nepal, for years and plans to continue, protected by highly placed associates. Conor soon learns of the inner workings of a country torn by civil war and turmoil. After his three month stint, he travels the world for a year and then, drawn back to the children, he returns to the orphanage for another three month stint. He is selflessly devoted to them and tries to help rescue others. When civil unrest grows worse and his three months are once again over, he returns to America.A short time later, he finds that the children he thought he had saved before leaving, have actually been taken again by Golkka. His conscience bothers him, and finding no satisfaction in his job search, he yearns to return to Nepal and the children who have been abandoned by their families and their government and attempt to reunite them. The sweet innocence of the children, tried so harshly by life already, will capture your heart as well. Conor's goals will capture your soul. His quest to reunite the children with their families will read like a novel. It will be hard to believe that such things really take place in the world.I loved this book. Unlike Three Cups of Tea, in which Greg Mortensen couldn't resist including his politics, which turned me off, this book is written completely from the heart, blames and bashes no particular party or politician but rather concentrates on the plight of the children and their path to safety.I had the distinct feeling that G-d had a hand in the rescue of many of the children, even though they had been abandoned or they would not have been in such sorry circumstances. Conor seems to witness miracles occurring! He finds a soul mate on the internet who is interested in helping orphans. Things come together for him and he is able to proceed with his efforts, although he has great difficulty accomplishing his goals because Nepal is not America and things are accomplished slowly and with great difficulty. There is corruption everywhere and the people are so preoccupied with surviving that the plight of the children has fallen off the radar screen.This book is written with sincerity and honesty. It is as if you are overhearing a conversation. There is romance, humor, and betrayal. Conor makes it sound like what he is doing is commonplace, almost naturally easy for him. The story is told in a very matter of fact way, and yet he faces danger and intrigue everyday he is in Nepal from various corners, from illness to enemies. His efforts to found the Next Generation Nepal, for orphaned children, is nothing less than heroic. Please read it because it will profoundly affect the way you view the situation in these hotbeds of despair and child abuse.
    • 5/5
      Who doesn't love the story of a young idealist who goes out into the world tilting at windmills and actually succeeds? Uplifting story, exotic location, big-eyed children, and yes, even a love story, this book will be a blockbuster.Conor Grennan is a young Irish-American, who after eight years at the East-West Institute in Europe, decides to travel around the world spending his money, carousing with friends, and drinking lots of beer. But first he spends a couple of months doing the obligatory volunteer thing, in this case working at a children's home in Nepal. While there, Conor begins to see the world differently, and his life takes on a new shape. Children in Nepal are often given up by their parents either in an effort to see them better fed and educated, or because the parents cannot afford to keep them. These children end up as cheap domestic labor or "orphaned". NGOs, such as Little Princes, where Conor works, try to keep the children from exploitation by providing a group home and education. Conor decides to take it a step further and try to reunite the children with their parents.By turns humorous and touching, the book is a look at a side of Kathmandu and Nepal that non-tourists and -trekkers rarely see. More importantly, it sheds light on an international problem, the exploitation of children, and it is a study in self-discovery and how one person can make a difference. My only reservation is that Conor's one person crusade, while completely admirable, may have been better served by working with other NGOs already established and working in Nepal on these same issues, rather than clumsily trying to start his own. In any event, if you liked Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time, you will love Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal. *only slightly tongue in cheek*
    • 5/5
      Conor Grennan wanted an international adventure; he wanted something different. He had saved money and was planning on taking a trip across the world. Along the way, he decided (for the wrong reasons, he later admits) to volunteer at an non-profit organization in Nepal. His time of service would be three months and would consist of helping the orphans of Kathmandu, Nepal. Despite the civil war taking place in Nepal and the unrest of that nation, Conor followed through with his commitment to volunteer. His three month time period turned into much more, and this memoir is about his efforts to encourage, help, love, and provide homes to the the lost children of Nepal.I knew when I first read the description of this memoir that I would probably really enjoy it. I generally love hearing about individuals that give their lives to make their community a better place. Plus, this book takes place in Nepal, which is a country with which I am not very familiar. In this case, my first inclination about this book was 100% correct. I really, really liked it.One of my favorite elements was the honesty in Conor's voice. He openly admits issues of adjusting to Nepali culture. He openly admits to moments of weakness and doubt. It isn't the kind of thing where he is self-righteous and always employs the "look what I've done" attitude. Closely related to that is that his service in Nepal is all about the kids. He went to extraordinary lengths to reunite families and give children hope, and he describes the kids in such a way that makes me want to be more like a selfless, innocent child.To sum it up, Little Princes is a moving, encouraging memoir that caused me to re-evaluate what I am doing to help my neighbor. It also broadened my view and made me further realize that there are millions of suffering souls in the world just waiting to receive a glimmer of hope.
    • 5/5
      Conor had relatively accomplished quite a lot for a 29 year old. After graduating college he worked in Prague and Brussels, but after eight years he felt he needed to take a break, to do something cool and fun. Conor decided to seize a year of his life and youth and voyage the globe but he felt that he also needed to justify the trip so he decided to spend three months doing something for the good of mankind, eventually deciding to work with orphans in Nepal. Conor had read reports of civil unrest but he felt they were dramatized. Conor was at first disappointed in his choice of his volunteerism but eventually he had became completely fascinated by the children and their difficulties.Nepal had civil hostilities for almost a decade; their own regime was rampant with dishonesty and unable to defend their people from the guerrillas who roamed the country. Families struggled to care for their family for even basic necessities, and to keep them from being snatched by the guerrillas to become part of the militia. Families became do desperate they fell prey to child traffickers who promised to care for the children and give them not only basic needs but also education needed to become successful. The families paid hefty sums to make certain of their children's protection, not realizing that the traffickers took the children into Katmandu where they were sent out to beg in the streets or were sold into slavery. When it came time for Conor to leave for the fun part of his adventure he could not get the images of the children out of his mind. Despite the worsening political state of affairs Conor knew he had to return to Nepal to try and help the children.This is an stirring story, one that is well written with Conor's wry sense of humor added. The story is about a young man learning about himself and what is truly essential in life.I rate this book five stars !!
    • 4/5
      In Little Princes: One Man’s Promise To Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal, author Conor Grennan recounts how a between jobs trip to Nepal turned into a calling to help the orphaned children of Nepal. As much as the book is about his quest to help the young orphans, it is as much about what Nepal offers Grennan - both in terms of self discovery and love. A Three Month StintTwenty-nine year old Conor Grennan decides to leave his day job and travel around the world for a year. He had planned this trip well and saved for the opportunity to be job free for a year. He started his trip with a three month stay volunteering at a Nepalese orphanage - his opportunity to give back before he started his around the world trip of leisure. Upon arrival at the Little Princes Children’s Home, he is charged at and tackled by a group of wide-eyed Nepalese children excited to have a new playmate join them. Immediately, Conor is overwhelmed by their enthusiasm and worries that he has taken on more than he can handle. There is a vulnerability in these children’s willingness to embrace him that, although endearing, unsettles Conor.As the weeks go on, however, Conor just accepts the enthusiastic love these children have to offer. Along with his fellow volunteers, Farid and Sandra, Conor fills the children’s days with games of cards, soccer scrimmages and school lessons. The three months fly by and Conor has to leave the orphanage for his around the world trip but he vows to come back to Little Princes. He makes good on the promise and the children are as happy to have him back as Conor is to be back at the orphanage. Conor grows attached to the children.As he becomes more attached to the children, Conor also wants to protect his young charges. Nepal is in the throes of a civil war and the young children are key targets for the Maoists who would like to recruit them into their army. When Conor learns these children have been pawns in the civil war for the entirety of their young lives, he is even more determined to protect them. Conor discovers the children are not really orphans - many of them have parents but were taken from their villages by traffickers who promised their parents that they would protect them during the Civil War by taking them to the safety of the Kathmandu valley. They would collect large sums of money from the parents for this “service” but then just abandon the children. Orphanages like Little Princes would take the children in but they were raised far away from their families without any knowledge that their parents were still alive.Something Must Be DoneConor learns the scope of the problem in Nepal is huge and that orphanages like Little Princes are only able to help a small percentage of the vulnerable children. A mission is born - Grennan knows he must do whatever possible to expand the services to children in Nepal. He starts a foundation to help the trafficked children of Nepal. Next Generation Nepal supports a three-pronged approach to helping the children of Nepal. First it rescues these children from the street and places them in transitional homes; second it supports reconnection and reunification by finding parents in remote villages of Nepal to ultimately reunite them with their children in these transitional homes. Lastly, the foundation works on prevention by targeting trafficking at its root causes. All this (and a budding romance!) from a three month stint volunteering before traveling around the world - amazing!My ThoughtsI devoured this book - I found Conor’s story and especially the stories of the orphans compelling. I enjoyed reading about their daily lives at Little Princes and the many funny moments as they sought to understand each other. There were many heartbreaking moments in the book as the vulnerability and suffering of these children are revealed. But, the book is also one of hope. There is hope in the work of Next Generation Nepal but especially in the humanity of people like those working in these orphanages and their dedication to doing right by these children. This is a book I won’t soon forget!
    • 4/5
      I requested this book as an Early Reviewers selection because of an interest in the problem of human trafficking. Conor Grennan's memoir of how he stumbled into the dilemma of children of Nepal who were trafficked during the decade long civil war is an engaging story.His encounter with the Little Princes Childrens Home is the beginning of a year long trip around the world. He candidly admits in the beginning that the service aspect of the trip was not completely altruistic. Yet he is drawn to the children in this home and becomes deeply committed to the cause of seven additional children who have not found the safety that the Little Princes have found.The author recounts his story of setting up a nonprofit enterprise to find these children and create a home for them and additional children. This leads to ventures into the Humla region of Nepal to find the families of origin for many of these children. Through this process, he also meets the woman who will become his wife.I loved reading about the interactions with the children and the dialogue that revealed their indomitable spirits. The stories of meeting with the parents who didn't know the fate of their children were also compelling. However, having read other accounts of human trafficking, I felt the narrative was somewhat sanitized. He tells us about rescuing Dirgha and Navin from the precipice of death by starvation, but the circumstances of how they came to that state are not revealed or speculated upon. Yet to the author's credit, perhaps he only documents that which he witnessed directly.I found a few other details wanting. He mentions staff members of Little Princes and the subsequent home he establishes through NGN, but these individuals are not fleshed out in any detail. Similarly, the boys go off to school in school uniforms, but the reader is not informed about who runs the school and how that is set up.The story is somewhat reminiscent of Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea. In comparison, the writing in Little Princes is a little uneven starting out a bit stilted and smoothing out as the narrative progresses. It should be noted that Greg Mortenson used a co-author which Conor Grennan does not appear to have done. Like Three Cups of Tea, I will be recommending this book to the reading group at our church to encourage sponsorship of such efforts for children who are the victims of war.
    • 4/5
      Conor Grennan is not what you'd expect after you read the title of this book. He wants to travel around the world and decides his friends and family can't begrudge him the trip of a lifetime (while squandering his life savings) after he volunteers for a few weeks at an orphanage. Little does he know it's going to change his life - and the lives of many others. This is an intense and amazing book. It made me want to travel to Nepal to help!
    • 5/5
      This is a quick, humorous non-fiction account of a serious project. Grennan initially plans to spend a fun year travelling around the world, but worries that that seems selfish, so he starts it off with a stint of volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal. Those "orphans" quickly turn into his life's work; they end up not being orphans at all, but children who were taken from their parents under false pretenses, and Grennan starts a non-profit organization devoted to restoring them to their families. The tone of this book is just perfect; Grennan is self-deprecating and funny and really manages to bring the children to life. I read it in just a couple of days, and will probably return to it in the future. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I don't usually read non-fiction but I was drawn to the exotic nature of this adventure and I was not disappointed. Little Princes is one of those books that makes you realize how small the world actually is and how we need to be helping each other to make it a better place for all....not just for ourselves. An absolutely stunning story told by a seemingly ordinary man who shows that with a good heart and a lot of hard work one person can truly make a difference. Brilliant.
    • 5/5
      The story of a man who decided to give up one year of his life, in hopes of a great adventure, who ends up being forever changed by the families and children he comes into contact with on his journey. Not only is Conor changed by these children, he significantly impacts their lives. Reuniting them with their families if at all possible. Heart breaking and funny; I found myself crying one moment, and laughing out loud the next. These children indeed are lost, and so many more have yet to be found because of child trafficking. I sincerely hope that many will read this book because as a whole, we are unaware of what is happening in our world. Please consider helping these children and Conor's mission. AND READ THIS BOOK!
    • 4/5
      This is a great book. I loved the self deprecating humor amidst the sadness of the subject matter. It could easily have been a dark book, but it was uplifting and actually fun to read. I wasn't so much into the love story part, but it was part of his experience so was necessary I guess.
    • 4/5
      I think it must take an extraordinary person to leave the comforts of their home country to travel to the other side of the world to work with children in an impoverished nation. That is exactly what author Conor Grennan did. On a jaunt around the world he decided to volunteer for three months at an orphanage in Nepal. He thought it would make him look good and maybe he would impress women too. But what he found was a whole different world and he lost his heart to it. After finding out that the children in the orphanage were not really orphans, but had been trafficked from their poor families, he made it his mission to reunite them. He founded a non-profit called NGN (Next Generation Nepal) to help trafficked children find their way home. I thought this was a really good book, and whenever I read something like this I wonder what I can do to make a difference. I received an advanced readers copy of this book some time ago from Library Thing but I never got around to reading it. I’m glad to say that I have finally read it and I would encourage anyone who wants to read a really inspirational story to pick this up. We just never realize how good our lives are in the United States.
    • 5/5
      Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan is a book very much in the vein of Three Cups of Tea. Grennan first went to Nepal in 2004 for what was supposed to be a relatively brief (few month) stay at the start of a one year trip around the world. Volunteering at the orphanage outside Kathmandu was supposed to be his "good deed" before his big, fun, responsibility-free adventure. Grennan did leave Nepal after his stint was up, but couldn't forget the children he had met and cared for there. He returned to Nepal again and again, eventually founding a non-profit, Next Generation Nepal, opening a second children's home, and beginning a quest to find the families of the children within the two homes. (Most of the children were not truly orphans, having instead been trafficked by men who promised to take the children to safety in Kathmandu for large sums of money from the parents).This was a captivating and engaging read. I finished it in two days and never wanted to put it down. It's not being published until February, but I highly recommended it once it is available.
    • 5/5
      Everyone needs to read this book. This is the memoir of an average single American guy who decided to use his savings to take a year to travel around the world. To impress his friends, he decided to start his trip by working at an orphanage in Nepal for 3 months. He didn't know what he was getting himself into, however, because it turned out that the children were not orphans at all. They were victims of a child trafficking scheme. After his 3 months stint, he continued on his trip around the world, only to be drawn back to the plight of the children. He decided to do a second 3 month term at the orphanage. Nepal erupted in a Civil War which led to more trafficking of children. He left Nepal in an emergency evacuation type setting, and once home found out that 7 children he had promised to get to the orphanage never made it. They were picked up by the child trafficker before making it to safety.This book chronicles his journey to find those children and bring them to safety.
    • 4/5
      Thank you to Jen @ Bookclub Girl for providing me with a copy of this book. Please join Jen as she discuss Little Princes with Connor Grennan on January 31st on her blog talk radio show. The link can be found on her blog.This novel is the true story of the author Conor Grennan's work to help end child trafficking in Nepal. When we first meet Conor he is fulfilling a short stint at a Nepal orphanage called Little Princes. Having just read Jon Krakeur's account of the Everest tragedy in 1996 in his novel Thin Air, I was already a little familiar with Nepal and Katmandu. Turns out Conor was a fan of the book as well. As Conor's stay at Little Princes goes on he transforms from someone without a clue as to how to interact with the children into someone who deeply cares for the children of Nepal. He also makes some lasting friendships that greatly impact his life including one with Frenchman Farid who will go on to be a partner in Connor's later work. Eventually the time comes for Connor to depart and after a bicycle site seeing tour he returns to the states. Even though he goes back he seems to have left his heart with the children of Nepal. While in the US he learns that seven children that he cared for have been taken by child traffickers and he vows to go back to secure their rescue. One of the child traffickers by the name of Golkka is as evil as a person as anyone could ever meet. He operates by threatening the children as well as anyone who would try to help them.Connor learns that Golkka promised the children's parents that he would take the them for schooling. Many of the parents gave Golkka all of the money they could and he in turn did whatever would serve his own purposes such as sell them into slavery or exploit them to get money from relief organization. The parents weren't allowed to contact the children and the children were told that there parents were dead. As Conor seeks out the children he learns that many more children than just his seven are in dire need of help and also that the children's parents are not really dead. He is able to reconnect some of the children to parents who had thought that they were lost forever. With his new found knowledge, Connor starts his own relief organization called next Generation Nepal with the goal of keeping children in Nepal out of the hands of child traffickers. Along the way he meets the love of his life Liz,, who shares his passion and they are now the parents of two adorable children of their own.Connor's journey is sometimes humorous and often heart wrenching. A lot of people say that they would like to make the world a better place but Connor was someone who did it. There is a lot of great information on Connor's facebook page and you can like the book there to see updates as well as photos. This book as well as Ashley Judd's memoir and the fictional novel The Blue Notebook shine a light on the world of child trafficking so that we can be aware of what is going on around the world as well as sometimes in our own backyards. I commend all of those lending their talents and efforts in the daily fight to end child exploitation.
    • 4/5
      While the author's journey is cliche, I found the tales of this poverty-stricken country endearing. The author starts out like a person trying to "find himself" and ends up with a new path through life. The stories about the children of Nepal pulled at my heart. Grennan does a great job of creating the characters and helping the reader feel an attachment to them. His tales of the treks to places unknown were captivating and left me wanting to know more about these journies and how he searched for families. As a reader, I wanted to know more about raising the funds for this venture or how the author funded his journey from the start.
    • 4/5
      I've read some less than enthusiastic reviews about the book, especially faulting the author for aggrandizing himself but I take a more charitable view of Grennan. These children changed his life and his worldview. He went to Nepal as a rather typical young American thinking he could just volunteer for a few weeks and then dust his hands of the place, putting a tick mark beside "volunteered in third world country" on his bucket list. What he found is that it isn't as easy to leave behind the children that he grew to love. After his travels around the world and with virtually no funds left he returned to the Little Princes. He spent another few months there and saw the country torn apart by the Maoist revolutionaries and the King's soldiers. He left when it was no longer safe for foreigners to be in the country but he didn't stop thinking about them. He especially couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the children were not, in fact, orphans as he initially believed. He decided he had to go back and help find the families who had given up their children to a man who promised they would be kept safe from the rebels and given an education. In fact, the man kept them in poverty and servitude until he was forced to give them up.Grennan founded NGN, Next Generation Nepal, as a charity in the US and raised some funds to allow him to return to Nepal and start this work.After a ceasefire between the rebels and the King was negotiated it was safe (well, marginally safer) to go into the remote area of the country where the children's families lived. Since there were no roads into the area Grennan and his guides flew into the only place that had enough flat land for an airstrip. Then they had to traverse narrow mountain paths to get to the villages that the children had come from. Maybe it's because I have bad knees myself but I felt every jolt, every bump on their excruciating journey. Amazingly, Grennan and his guides found parents for a number of the children. Grennan carried back pictures and letters for the Little Princes who were, for once, quiet as it sunk in that their families existed.Grennan also managed to find love while he made connections with the children's families. He entered into an email correspondence with a young woman who had heard about his work. Liz managed to make a side trip to Kathmandu while visiting India. They only had two days together but it was enough to convince Grennan that he wanted to spend his life with her.Finding the families of the children was not the same as reuniting the families. That was a much longer process but the work continues.I would really like to learn more about Gyan, the civil servant with Nepal's Child Welfare Board, who aided NGN and other groups in Kathmandu who looked after the children. His full story would be fascinating. Maybe another book? Meanwhile this one is pretty interesting and I'm glad I read it.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of the some of the lost children of Nepal - children who have been taken from their parents under false pretenses. Children who are made to work as slaves to the child trafficers who see them as a commodity, like a bag of rice. This is the story one man's attempt to make a difference in these childrens lives.Conor Grennan doing a volunteer stint at the Little Princes Children's Home Orphanage is out of his comfort zone. but he is only going to be there 3 months as he plans on traveling around the world. But something happens - he becomes attached to the children and their stories. "Little Princes" is about Grennan's attempt to find the parents of these children. It is not easy in war torn Nepal, especially when the children are from villages in the mountains and the only way to get there is to walk.Heartfelt, funny and well written, this book is a must read for those that believe that good things still do happen.
    • 4/5
      I just heard the author of this book on the radio today and figured it was about time I got around to writing a review. I finished the book a few weeks ago, so it isn't that fresh in my mind. I was a little nervous that this book was going to be like Three Cups of Tea. Regardless of the current controversy over the validity of Mortenson's book, I found Three Cups of Tea to be overwhelmingly self-absorbed. I was hoping this book didn't turn into a self-righteous account of one man's adventure of saving the poor children of Nepal, only to find that he was the one truly saved in the end. There was a little bit of that vibe at times, but overall I think the author did a good job focusing on the bigger picture of what was actually going on with child trafficking in Nepal. He told his story in a very readable way without seeming overly self absorbed.

      I really liked reading what the author said about his initial experience with Nepal and the different elements of culture shock. I related to the way he described the streets of Nepal and different neighborhoods of Kathmandu. It was strange that I didn't really relate to the way the author described the shelter for children who were victims of trafficking. I guess it was mostly because he worked with mostly boys and I worked with only girls...

      Anyway, this was a good book. I mostly enjoyed it because it was nice to read something about Nepal and someone doing some good things there.