Autobiography

Little Princes:

One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

Author: Conor Grennan

Average Rating:  4.67 / 5

Trigger Warnings:

Sometimes passion surprises you. Will you have the courage to follow it?

Conor Grennan (29yo) decided to volunteer at an orphanage in Nepal at the beginning of a year-long world trip as a way to justify the extravagance to himself and his family. But over the three month stint, the young boys he met undeniably wormed their way into his heart. 

Stranded in the middle of a civil war, these boisterous boys showed Conor first-hand the resilience and heart that can only be found in children. But it was the truth of their situation that truly shocked him. This orphanage did not in fact house orphans. Eager to profit from the war, traffickers were traveling to remote villages in the mountains and charging desperate families to bring their children to safety. Believing that their children would be protected, their parents would scrounge up everything they had to pay the massive fees. But instead of caring for them, the traffickers would take the children far away to Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, and then dump them in the chaos.

Truth exposed, Conor was left with a choice: what would he do about it? The children had a hold on his heart that they refused to let go. Thus began his journey from grudging volunteerism to a passionate determination to reunite these children with their families. His commitment would be tested as he traveled through the treacherous mountains, through poor weather conditions, injury, and war zones.

Little Princes is an epic story of the difference that one person can make when they refuse to give in to the odds that are stacked against them. It’s the true story of the love and power of family to carry us through the most hopeless of situations.

Lydia : 5/5

 I absolutely loved this book and I say that because I didn’t think I would like it. I am not a huge fan of non-fiction or biographies but this book may have changed my mind on that. The author struck a balance of brutal honesty and humour which always kept me on my toes. I really enjoyed learning about the different cultures and the positives and negatives. It was also really eye opening when he was comparing Nepal back to North America (first world vs third world countries). I found it to be an easy read in terms of flow but you’ll want to have a box of tissues handy because this is a tear-jerker. I was initially worried that there wouldn’t be enough characters or character development to help tell the story but boy was I wrong. Do yourself a favour and read this book – especially if you want to gain some knowledge and perspective. I give this book a 5/5.

Megan : 5/5

As someone who doesn’t read a lot of non-fiction, this is one of my favourite books. I’ve read it multiple times and it still elicits the same emotions each time. I’m dying with laughter (the first time I read the book, I was on a plane and it was really hard to not sound like a lunatic) or sobbing because of the situation. For non-fiction, this book does not suffer from poor writing. 

It’s easy to get lost in this story and it’s absolutely incredible that it’s true. The challenges that Grennan went through to take care of the children, to raise support, and to actually do what he said he would do: to find the families of these kids, are all insane. There’s no mention of him stopping and saying that this is too much; he keeps pushing through, doing whatever he can for the children he met at some random orphanage that he decided to work at to appease his guilt. What started as a box to check off his list ended up changing his life.

I appreciate that he doesn’t shy away from certain topics and that he also doesn’t paint himself as some sort of saviour. He’s real and honest about the struggles that he went through with culture shock and then trying to get his non-profit up and running. This is such an inspirational story, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Sharaya : 4/5

The only time I seem to read non-fiction is when book club makes me do it. I’m determined to read every book on our list. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by Little Princes.  I had to keep reminding myself that these incredible events really happened.  I appreciated Grennan’s dry, self-deprecating sense of humour.  He viewed the culture shock that he experienced with self-awareness, making fun of the pampered white man that he was, while still explaining the culture to his readers.  

I do wish that he had included more about the reactions of family and friends when he decided to return to Nepal.  I also wish that he had included more about his faith journey, but I can appreciate that these things were not the focus of the book.  It wasn’t about Grennan, it’s about the kids and their lost families. 

A very good book.  It was interesting, eye-opening, and had me tearing up more than once!  What a powerful story. 

To access a printable list of 10 book club questions, please click here.