Little Princes audiobook

When late-twenty-something Conor Grennan felt guilty about spending an entire year travelling the world, he decided to dedicate three months of this time to volunteering at a Kathmandu orphanage named “Little Princes.” His experience would be a life altering one for him. The children in this orphanage had arrived mostly because of traffickers. Unscrupulous men promise desperately poor rural parents that their children will be well looked-after, well educated, and will be safe from being taken by Maoist insurgents. They then charge these poor people enormous sums but do not deliver on their promises. Some of the children are sold into slavery, some are used as professional beggars for Fagin-like masters, some are dumped on families no better able to raise and protect them than their own families, and some are dropped off at orphanages. The “orphans” Grennan encountered were often children who still had living families. He made it his mission to try to reconnect the children with their loved ones. I was reminded of Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson’s tale of building schools for education-deprived kids in Pakistan. There is plenty of observation of the surrounding physical and political environment, but Grennan’s tale hews more closely than Mortenson’s to his personal story, and so far as we know, to the truth.In fact, it reads like a novel, with a bit of something for everyone. There is suspense. Grennan must fear for his life as Dickensian evil-doers, such as politically connected human traffickers and Maoist rebels who do not appreciate his interefence with their theft of children, pose a constant threat. There is adventure, as Grennan, who is injured at the beginning of the journey, and a team, trek the Himalayas trying desperately to find the families of his lost children before winter sets in. There is a tale of moral uplift as this young middle-class westerner finds a calling to help children in need in a remote, impoverished land. This is accompanied by an understated exploration of spirituality. But most of all, this is a love story. For it is his love for the children he encounters that sets Grennan on his life's new path, love for the corps of new friends with whom he shares his work and finally, love for a woman he meets via e-mail while he is in Nepal, a woman he believes will be the love of his life. (I always enjoy hearing of people who have met this way, having met my wife-of-twelve-years on-line myself) He describes their impending meeting: "man walks twenty-seven hours in two days to get out of the mountains to meet girl who has just flown nine thousand miles for a visit." Not your typical first date. At times, I was racing through the pages as if I were reading a Stieg Larsson, eager to see what happens next, and at others, I had to put the book down to wipe my eyes. You will be engaged, moved and uplifted. There really are good things happening in this world. There really are good people. And it is really good to be reminded of that.I stumbled across a video re Grennan and the book. It is a promotional piece, but captures well what the book is about. There are more vids on Connor's site.PS – The copy I read was an ARE, so lacked some items that I hope will make it into the production version. Maps would help situate one in the geography here, and I really wanted to see photos of the places and people Grennan writes about. PPS - The author graciously posted a comment about this. Maps and photos were indeed in the hard cover. ==============================EXTRA STUFFGrennan's personal websiteThe website for Next Generation Nepal, the foundation that was set up to continue Grennan's work

I loved this book! Truly an inspirational tale about how one man, in an attempt to enjoy life and travel around the world for a year, instead found himself, his soul, and his purpose.The narratives and the way it was written made me feel like I was there. Told with humor and laugh-out-loud moments. Truly amazing how they were able to find these children and the effort to reunite them with their families. I have such admiration and respect for Conor and everyone else involved dedicated to helping these children. You guys are the real hero!👍

I absolutely LOVED this audiobook! It's a rare book that makes me chuckle and laugh out loud but also get teary-eyed with emotion. I applaud his honesty, his humor, and his efforts for the children of Nepal. I fell in love with these kids and loved hearing the story in Conor's own voice.Highly recommended, especially as an audio book!! Although I'm sure I would have loved reading it as well, nothing can replace hearing the story as only Conor could tell it.

The overall story of this book is actually pretty trite. A western man named Conner, who has thus far refused to grow up, decides to volunteer for 3 months at an orphanage in Nepal before going on a year long trip around the world. Once there he becomes attached to the children. During the course of the book he does wonderful deeds, learns lessons, finds a wife, finds a faith and saves the day.But there is something you need to know… this book is hilarious. Really, really funny. I told a few of the stories to my 7yo and he wants me to tell them again and again. Now that I’ve finished the book I plan to have my 7 yo listen to it as well as it is largely about the lives of children his age in another country and how their lives compare and contrast to his own. It’s got some tough issues in it to though. Mainly that the children are not orphans but victims of human trafficking. There are children who were lost and when found are literally about to starve to death and have to be hospitalized. Conner does not go into any details on any abuses the children experienced other than beatings, starvation and neglect which is bad enough. But as an adult, I imagine he left out details that would make the book much more difficult to read and would have made it inappropriate for my 7 yo.The book is full of information about Nepal, the culture, the cities and villages, the politics in an easily accessible way. You won’t be an expert on Nepal at the end, but you will at least have a frame of reference. **EDIT** Also, spoilersI added another star making 5. Very rarely do I have people come back and tell me that the book I recommended was awesome... and when they do it's books that I rated 5 stars. Within a few days of spreading the word on this book, I had people emailing me to tell me how much they were enjoying it.Also, we started to listen to it again with my 7 year old. He calls the book "Conner Brother" (adorable). And just to make it more clear than I did in the review above, I expected the author to discuss the sexual abuse these children must have been exposed to and he did not. I want my son to understand that he won the lottery when he was born in the US but I don't want to expose him to themes he's not ready for. I appreciate that this book strikes the balance of being realistic without being graphic.

Absolutely LOVED this book! The further you get into the book the more caught up you get in it all - getting to know the children, feeling the injustice of them being taken away from their families and being mistreated and then rooting for Conor as he fights to reunite the children with their families. To top it all off, there's also a sweet love story thrown into the mix. Definitely a must-read!

I was prepared to like this book. What is not to like? A story of a man who goes to Nepal and finds his calling to help the children of the country at first in the orphanages and eventually trying to reunite them with their parents. It sounds wonderful doesn't it? And it is, but it is so much more. I was struck with the fact that the author is very open in the beginning that he first went to Nepal to help in an orphanage just to have something to talk about or put on his resume. Pretty selfish isn't it? But who isn't like that? Honestly?Then something changes, the children creep into Conor's heart and begin to bless him as he helps out in the children's home. As Conor learns more about the civil war in the country and the people that take the children from their parents to a life of slavery, you see Conor change and then he wants to help change the country and the children. The story is gripping. I had a hard time putting it down. I wanted to know what challenge Conor would get through next. Would he find the children, would he find the parents and just what could he do in this poor country where children are taken from their parents with the guise of helping them find a better life, but in reality are sold into child slavery.Through fund-raising and sheer will, Conor accomplished most of his goals with his friend Farid and help of others with other organizations in Nepal. He started a non-profit, Next Generation Nepal to help these children, to start his own home for them and with the help of others he is accomplishing his goals still to this day. It is just a marvelous tale of things happening for him and the children at just the right time. Of course there are trials, but Conor grows and learns to accept things as they happen.And the book is not only about his journey to help the children of Nepal, but it also has glimpses of his personal life at the time. I loved every aspect of this book and I hope Conor Grennan writes another book as he continues his plight to help these children and parents in Nepal. I love that this book opens up this struggle to the world and we as readers can see what is going on and find ways to help as well. The book is inspiring, uplifting and just amazing. I already know it will be one of my top reads of the year.

When I turned the very last page of this book, I had to sit there for a bit and get my bearings. I also tried to come up with a word to describe it, and as funny as this is going to sound, it being perhaps an odd word to describe a book, I chose the word "beautiful."It's a beautiful story because it is an emotional roller coaster ride. I went from laughing at the author's first daal bhat meal to feeling anger at the child traffickers to shock and dismay when two young boys were hospitalized because they were starving to death to happy tears when parents found out their children were alive and well to awe at the ability of these kids to go thru so much trauma and still laugh and pile up on friends, and I even cheered out loud for the author when he shoved his foot in a door and prevented a man from taking one of his kids back to a life of servitude. There's even a tiny love story at the end, but it doesn't overshadow the book's main focus: the children of Nepal. The author, Conor, first traveled to Nepal and vounteered at the Little Princes orphanage simply to impress his friends, but his two months with those kids changed his life forever. One year later, he found himself drawn back to the orphanage only to discover that most of the children weren't really orphans at all, but victims of child trafficking. Thinking their children would be safe from the ongoing civil war, parents would sell everything they owned, give the money to a prominent business man along with their child, and foolishly believe their son or daughter was heading to a fabulous life in the city where he or she would get educated and have plenty to eat. That's rarely the case. Most of these children would be abandoned, thrown into illegal orphanages to starve, or even sold into servitude. The first half of this memoir talks about Conor and the Little Princes as well as gives a look at life in Nepal and especially life during their civil war. Conor injects bits of humor here and there no matter how bad the situation and I laughed quite a few times. The last half of the story is about Conor trekking thru the dangerous nearby mountain range trying to find the Little Princes's families in hopes of reuniting them. Conor also starts his own orphanage (inspired by seven very special children who also play a huge role in the book) called Next Generation Nepal. This book was a real eye opener for me. I had no idea what children over in Nepal faced. It makes me appreciate what I have a whole lot more. I was very moved by this and I highly recommend it.

4.5 stars How I loved Conor Grennan's memoir titled Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children if Nepal. His writing was enjoyable - honest, funny, self-deprecating, engaging and so very easy to read. He's from a family of writers and it was evident to me he was gifted with the ability to put together a cohesive and very entertaining story. The fact he was writing about some good work he did in Nepal further enhanced my appreciation of his book. Conor was an American guy in his mid to late twenties and having worked in Europe for the eight years since finishing college he was ready for something new. With no commitments and a decent amount of savings he decided to treat himself to twelve months travelling the world. "I soon discovered that such a trip, while sounding extremely cool, also sounded unrepentantly self-indulgent. Even my most party-hardened friends, on whom I had counted to support this adventure, hinted that this might not be the wisest life decision..... 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? " So, readers get the picture early on that he was heading to Nepal to do a stint of volunteering in an orphanage to make himself sound selfless, to impress the ladies he met in bars, and to make the rest of his year long trip sound justified. What he had in mind was not exactly as it panned out. I enjoyed his anecdotes about how different Nepal was, of settling in, of his language faux pas, but more than these I loved the way he described the easy, relationships he developed with the children. I loved that he began to feel a sense of belonging and when saying goodbye, as the children begged him to comeback, (despite being warned by the organisation not to get their hopes up) Conor promised the children he'd return after the year was up. He did return, and on his next trip back Conor began to learn that not all the children were in fact orphans. Many, if not all, had wound up in orphanages after child traffickers had taken them from their families under false pretenses. Not only taking the children from their families but taking whatever money the parents had, claiming they'd be kept safe and would receive an education. Given there'd been a civil war raging, and children as young as five were being rounded up by Maoists and taken to fight, the parents believed they were doing what was best for their children. They were not to know that many were sold into slavery, others dumped and left homeless in big cities and that only the very fortunate ended up being taken in and cared for in an orphanage. As he left for a second time the war was escalating and he returned to the comfort and safety of his home in America. He started job hunting with excitement at beginning to earn some money again, but he found he could not detach from thoughts of the children. He missed them and felt a lingering sense of guilt that he had not been able to do more. And so, instead of job hunting he decided to start up his own NGO, he began fundraising and planned his return where he and fellow volunteer Farid created their own orphanage. His charity Next Generation Nepal set out to reunite families with their lost children. The story had adventure - think trekking for weeks in dangerous conditions, cold and hungry trying to find the villages and families of the children. It also had romance - a long distance relationship struck up between Conor and Liz a lawyer who also wanted to help with his charity. Mostly though it had that feel good vibe - I lived vicariously through Conor as he helped these children, something I've often dreamt of doing but have never stepped far enough out of my comfort zone to do it. Once I started reading this memoir I was hard pressed to put it down. I loved it and of course have enjoyed many hours since Googling to see how his good works have progressed.Highly recommended

Conor Grennan's Little Princes kept me up all night – the story so powerful and compelling I didn't want to stop reading. Little Princes chronicles the true tale of one man's decision to set aside his own self interest to help children in Nepal -- all victims of a lucrative trafficking scheme. The theme may sound depressing, but Grennan tells his story in a relatively light and genuinely very funny way. The sadness of the children's plight and the general hardships endured by their parents is blended with the uplifting revelation of their incredible resilience.What could have been a self-serving narration of one man's good deeds is instead a gripping, heart-felt story of hope, love, and joy. This is a must read.

Incredible memoir by Conor Grennan about his one year trip traveling the world with a start in Nepal during their civil war. He helped at an orphanage where the children were not orphans. Their parents had been tricked into selling their children to traffickers.He returned to Nepal and created Next Generation Nepal (NGN), a non-profit organization focused on reuniting trafficked children with their parents.Grennan's a storyteller extraordinaire. His authenticity, humbleness, humor, and compassion leap off the pages as he recounts journeys of incredible odds.Highly recommend!

An Eye-Opening Window to NepalWhen Irish American Conor Grennan decides to take a whirlwind year-long trip around the world, he opts to spend his first three months volunteering at a children’s orphanage in Nepal. The instant he walked through the gates of Little Princes, he was mobbed by laughing little boys attaching themselves to his legs like leeches hungry for blood. Running, playing, giggling children swarmed Conor from the moment he arrived, so ecstatic to have a foreigner visiting them. For Conor it was love at first sight, although he was a bit terrified. Never had he spent time with children, never mind work with them for three months. After settling in and getting to know the children of Little Princes, the facility high in the Nepali Himalayas, Conor finds he loves Nepal and all the hazards, poverty, and trials that come with it. In 2004 when he steps off the plane from America, a Maoist civil war is raging around him. Nepali villagers are hungry and starvation is a large problem. Winters are harsh in the Himalayas, the cold freezing climate hardens the people of Nepal as they eek out a meager existence and the food shortages of winter. However, impoverished people, little heat, border patrols, and starving children, still doesn’t put Conor off. For the next few months he digs in to help the facility and works with these charming love-starved kids with great enthusiasm. Rice bowl after rice bowl, Conor finds he has found his life’s calling.Weeks into his assignment, through various sources, Conor learns that the kids of Little Princes are not really orphans. Shockingly the staff learns that these children were stolen. Child trafficking runs rampant in Nepal, thousands of children have been taken from their families. Parents are scammed by men who knock on village doors offering to take children away from the war, where they will be taken to a facility that will be safe from the danger, fed well, and schooled. Believing these men, parents pay high prices to keep their children safe only to be swindled. When months and years go by, both child and parents believe each other dead. Conor and the staff at Little Princes are outraged to hear this disheartening news. Together they form a plan, gather resources, devise fund-raising programs, and ambitiously embark on a hell-bound mission to reunite these adorable imps with their mothers and fathers. Conor and his assistant Farid plan and complete mission after mission, endangering their lives as they hike through the treacherous mountains and locate one family after another hidden within the small villages of Nepal. Threatened by Maoist soldiers at gun point, locked in place by snow blizzards unable to keep moving, hiding themselves in family huts away from roaming militia, Farid and Conor never give up as one family after another are found. This profound and eye-opening memoir is one of the best I’ve read yet. In the style of Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea only much better, Little Princes is extremely heartwarming. Readers will fall head over heels with the kids who offer nothing but hugs and unlimited affection for Conor, and will not be able to put the book down once turning that first page that will take them on a journey they won’t forget. I laughed at the author’s dry sense of humor, I cried when these children both broke my heart and in turn made me smile. How these children persevered and knew unlimited joy during these times of chaos and crimes against them was simply beyond inspiring. Their faith in Conor, their playfulness and insight into his own heart when he falls in love, showed a level of uncanny intelligence and a depth of human compassion that will just astonish readers everywhere. This book is one of those that you say “Standing Ovation Please”!!!

5 OUT OF 5A 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.