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

Conor Grennan’s Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal is a memoir that details the author’s humanitarian work and travels in Nepal. The book’s storyline moves chronologically, beginning in 2004, when Grennan first volunteers at the Little Princes Children’s Home in Nepal. The story concludes in 2007, when the author moves back to the United States to establish a life with his fiancée Liz and grow his nonprofit organization Next Generation Nepal. The book tracks Grennan’s deepening commitment to reunite dozens of children who were separated from their families during the Nepalese civil war.

“A Note on the Crisis in Nepal” and the Prologue provides a brief background on the civil war in Nepal, which took place from 1996 to 2006. During the conflict, Maoist rebels fought to dethrone Nepal’s longstanding monarchy. To the dismay of Nepalese families, Maoist rebels forced young children across the country to join their army. Sensing an opportunity, child traffickers approached desperate and impoverished families and offered to relocate their children for protection. Ultimately, thousands of children were routed to Kathmandu, where they encountered dangerous and uncertain fates. Most have never seen their families again.

Part 1 brings the reader into 2004, when Grennan quits his long-time job in Prague to begin a year-long tour of the globe.