Lone Dog Road

By: Kent Nerburn

Narrated by: 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

Delivery… Just Wow

Amazing peak into a beautiful culture. This book has allowed a look behind the curtain and pointed out a curiosity of the history of our nation’s tragic clashing events to a recent past.

Beautiful story

Really enjoyed this heartfelt and wonderful story. Well, written emotionally charged with evoked earlier times when things were simpler in an amazing and colorful way a beautifully told story.

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.

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.

Powerful

This is a great book with a great audio performance of it by the narration team. Highly recommend!