Lone Dog Road

De: Kent Nerburn

Narrado por: Lynch Travis, Matt Haynes, Benjamin Callins, Tanis Parenteau

From award-winning author Kent Nerburn, whose writing Louise Erdrich has praised as “storytelling with a greatness of heart,” a tale of compassion and redemption played out against the haunting backdrop of the Dakota High Plains during the drought-stricken summer of 1950

Two young Lakota boys, ages eleven and six, huddle in a boxcar hurtling through the prairie night as they run from a government agent sent to take them to an Indian boarding school. But what begins as a pursuit soon becomes a complex human drama of intersecting lives as the boys make their way across the vast Dakota plains to the pipestone quarries of western Minnesota to replace their great-grandfather’s channunpa, or sacred pipe, that was broken by the government agent.

Alive with a rich tapestry of characters the boys meet along their journey, Lone Dog Road is at once an exploration of the hidden corners of the human heart and a moving study of the way the land shapes the people who live, love, dream, and die upon it. Sprawling, complex, and intimate, Lone Dog Road is destined to take its place in the grand tradition of great American road novels.

©2025 Kent Nerburn (P)2025 Dreamscape Media

Connection with Lakota ways

I was never bored. Occasionally I switched to something lighter for an hour or two. The story was seriously intense. Kent Nerburn is a marvelous writer.

Wow, just wow!!!.

Kent Nerdburn has written some of the most engaging stories involving the lakota, Dakota people. The detail in the history and how he can get the reader to feel the power and the presence of spirits in his narratives is truly amazing. While this may not be true for everyone, I will share that his books have personally been messages to myself thru the spirit realm. I share the fact that i myself have just obtained a piece of the sacred stone and am on a journey to create what Levi is doing. Creator works in mysterious ways, when you have faith. Thank you, Wopila, Pilamaya Kent and thank you Spirit, Tokashila, Creator for another day and more medicine for my being. Safe Travels to all.

Nerburn at His Best

I absolutely loved this book. A heartwarming tale that reinforces Lakota virtue and wisdom. I’ll just go ahead and say the cliche thing, this should be required reading so everyone has and example of what respect, gratitude, and grace is all about. Well done, Kent!

Touching, well-crafted, amazing

I've read many of Kent's books, but this one is the best. He has managed to capture the essence of the two young boys and their grandfather who are at the heart of the story. The themes of the boarding school experience and the cultural differences between "traditional" native values and Western culture perspectives are highlighted. And, it's one of the best books about the meaning of the channupa that I've encountered. There are no people in this story who are 100% evil -- no one who is beyond redemption. I'm letting my six-year-old grandson listen to the audio version, and he is enthralled by the adventures of Ruben and Levi. Occasionally he stops the story and asks me a question. And occasionally, I skip past part of the narration that I think would be too traumatic for him. But so far it's been a bonding experience for us. The narrators are wonderful, especially the voice of Levi. Thanks, Kent, for writing this. It must have been difficult to craft such a story. I look forward to learning how these two boys mature.

Very interesting. I grew up in ND on part of the reservation

It helps to understand the native ways. I was from ancestors from Norway who got free land on the reservation. So unfair.

An exquisitely told coming of age story

Such a masterful weaving of story, wisdom and reflections of being human-in all its range of forms . A reminder that we are interconnected to each other, to the Mother Earth and the Great Spirit.

Tedious reader

Story okay but reader made it difficult with his choice of voices. And it seemed over long. Could have used editing.