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

◆《紐約時報》暢銷排行榜
◆ 亞馬遜網路書店讀者五顆星推薦

　　二十九歲的康諾．葛瑞南為了探索未知，辭掉工作展開為期一年的環遊世界之旅，而前往內戰的尼泊爾「小王子兒童之家」擔任三個月的短期義工就是啟程第一站。

　　康諾原本對義工活動意興闌珊，一方面不確定自己是否有足夠的技能，一方面也不知道自己是否有足夠的熱情可以投入內戰開發中國家的工作。然而，一群活潑而精力充沛的孩子迅速改變了他的想法，為他帶來難以計數的挑戰與收穫。隨後，康諾在震驚中得知這些孩子其實「根本不是孤兒」的殘忍事實，原來兒童人口販子對偏遠村落家庭收取大筆佣金，允諾這些家庭將保護孩子、不讓孩子受戰火波及，最後卻把孩子帶到遙遠而兵荒馬亂的尼泊爾首都加德滿都遺棄。

　　康諾原本隨興的旅程因此轉彎，他開始努力讓他所深愛的孩子與家人重逢，而這個任務並不簡單──他必須冒著生命危險穿越尼泊爾的險峻高山，面對血腥內戰造成的危險，忍受讓人行動不便的腳傷。與此同時，他未來的妻子和事業夥伴則癡癡等待康諾回到加德滿都，祈禱他能在被雪困住之前離開山區與她相會。

　　《親愛的小王子》講是關於家庭與孩子的真實故事，以及一個人面對登天困境時所能激發的潛能。《親愛的小王子》的故事悲喜交織、爆笑連連，在在證明了信仰的力量，還有愛的無遠弗屆。

　　One Person Can Make a Difference

　　In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.

　　Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war—for a huge fee—by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

　　For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life’s work.

　　Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

　　★本書中譯版《親愛的小王子》由天下文化出版。

作者簡介

康諾．葛瑞南Conor Grennan

　　一九七五生，維吉尼亞大學畢業後隻身前往布拉格，加入名為「東西學院」（EastWest Institute）的智庫團體，研究巴爾幹半島的和平問題。二○○四年，葛瑞南決定辭去工作，用一年的時間環遊世界，首站便來到內戰烽火連天的尼泊爾，在尼泊爾的哥達瓦利村「小王子兒童之家」擔任義工，從中了解尼泊爾人口販子猖獗的問題。葛瑞南曾多次往返尼泊爾，創立「尼泊爾下一代」(NGN)非營利組織，致力讓內戰過後遭拐賣的兒童與家人團聚。

　　日後他將這段歷程寫成《親愛的小王子》。

　　康諾畢業於維吉尼亞大學和紐約大學商學院，目前與妻兒住在康乃狄克州。

　　After volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home in the village of Godawari in 2004, Conor Grennan eventually returned to Nepal to launch Next Generation Nepal (NGN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting trafficked children with their families. He resides in Connecticut with his wife and two children.