At the heart of the Scottish diaspora lie stories of human adventure, achievement, and adversity. Personal testimony provides a powerful lens through which to view the complex and often contradictory saga of Scottish emigration. Not only does it offer multiple narratives of the motives, expectations, and experiences of successive generations of individuals and families, it can also be used to explore broader issues about the cultural and political spirit of the age, as well as the socio-economic context that triggered tidal waves and trickles of emigration. Drawing on a sample from more than 100 interviews, this talk by Marjorie Harper, professor of history at the University of Aberdeen, explores the motives and experiences of migrants, settlers, and returners by focusing on the recollections of a handful of the 2 million men, women, and children who left their Scottish homeland in the 20th century.