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Kent Nerburn

Goodreads Author

Born

in Minneapolis, The United States

Website

http://www.kentnerburn.com

Genre

Nonfiction, Spirituality, Fiction

Member Since

May 2010

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I'm a child of the 60's, a son of the north, and a lover of dogs.

Grew up in a crackerbox post-war bungalow outside of Minneapolis with my mother and father, two younger sisters, various dogs and cats, and a neighborhood full of rugrat kids playing outside until called in for the night.

Studied American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Religious Studies and Humanities at Stanford University, received a Ph.D. in Religion and Art in a joint program at Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley. Lots of learning, lots of awards. Phi Beta Kappa. Summa cum Laude. Lots of stuff that looks good on paper.

But just as important, an antique restorer's shop in Marburg, Germany; the museums of Florence; a sculpture stud I'm a child of the 60's, a son of the north, and a lover of dogs.

Grew up in a crackerbox post-war bungalow outside of Minneapolis with my mother and father, two younger sisters, various dogs and cats, and a neighborhood full of rugrat kids playing outside until called in for the night.

Studied American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Religious Studies and Humanities at Stanford University, received a Ph.D. in Religion and Art in a joint program at Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley. Lots of learning, lots of awards. Phi Beta Kappa. Summa cum Laude. Lots of stuff that looks good on paper.

But just as important, an antique restorer's shop in Marburg, Germany; the museums of Florence; a sculpture studio in the back alleys of Pietrasanta, Italy; an Indian reservation in the forests of northern Minnesota; and, perhaps above all, the American road.

Always a watcher, always a wanderer, perhaps too empathetic for my own good, more concerned with the "other" than the "self", always more interested in what people believed than in what they thought. A friend of the ordinary and the life of the streets.

Twenty years as a sculptor -- over-life sized images hand-chiseled from large tree trunks -- efforts to embody emotional and spiritual states in wood. Then, still searching, years helping young people collect memories of the tribal elders on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation in the Minnesota north. Then writing,

always writing, finding a voice and even a calling, helping Native America tell its story.

A marriage, children, a home on a pine-rimmed lake near the Minnesota-Canadian border.

Book after book, seventeen in all, ever seeking the heartbeat of people's belief. Journeys, consolations, the caring observer, always the teacher, always the learner. Ever mindful of the wise counsel of an Ojibwe elder, "Always teach by stories, because stories lodge deep in the heart."

Through grace and good luck, an important trilogy (Neither Wolf nor Dog, The Wolf at Twilight, and The Girl who Sang to the Buffalo), a film, Minnesota Book Awards, South Dakota book of the year, many "community reads," book sales around the world.

In the end, a reluctant promoter, a quiet worker, a seeker of an authentic American spirituality, more concerned with excellence than quantity. Proud to be referred to as "a guerilla theologian" and honored to be called "the one writer who can respectfully bridge the gap between native and non-Native cultures". But more honored still to hear a twelve-year-old girl at one of my readings whisper to her mom, "He's a really nice man."

At heart, just an ordinary person, grateful to be a father and a husband, more impressed by kindness than by power, doing what I can with the skills that I have to pay my rent for my time on earth. And trying, always trying, to live by Sitting Bull's entreaty: "Come let us put our minds together to see what kind of lives we can create for our children."

And petting every dog that I can. ...more

Combine Editions
Kent Nerburn’s books

Average rating: 4.38 · 17,377 ratings · 2,185 reviews · 40 distinct works • Similar authors

	Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder 4.39 avg rating — 6,604 ratings — published 2002 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo 4.53 avg rating — 1,883 ratings — published 2013 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wisdom of the Native Americans: Including The Soul of an Indian and Other Writings of Ohiyesa and the Great Speeches of Red Jacket, Chief Joseph, and Chief Seattle 4.30 avg rating — 1,941 ratings — published 1991 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder's Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows 4.52 avg rating — 1,733 ratings — published 2009 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy 4.33 avg rating — 1,246 ratings — published 2005 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love by Kent Nerburn (Goodreads Author), Richard Carlson (Foreword) 4.25 avg rating — 604 ratings — published 1993 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Small Graces: The Quiet Gifts of Everyday Life 4.21 avg rating — 531 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Simple Truths: Clear and Simple Guidance on the Big Issues in Life 4.22 avg rating — 435 ratings — published 1993 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Voices in the Stones: Life Lessons from the Native Way 4.42 avg rating — 361 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dancing with the Gods: Reflections on Life and Art 4.11 avg rating — 260 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Kent Nerburn

Neither Wolf Nor Dog (3 books)
by

Kent Nerburn (Goodreads Author)

4.44 avg rating — 10,220 ratings

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Kent Nerburn and 36 other people liked Michael Burke's review of Lone Dog Road: A Novel: "More Brothers and Sisters Than Blood Agents arrive to forcibly pick up two native boys to whisk them away to an Indian boarding school. There is a confrontation with the family, an old man’s sacred pipe is broken, and the boys are sent by their mother" Read more of this review »
Aug 13, 2025 12:55AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kent Nerburn liked Lisa's review of Lone Dog Road: A Novel: "Listened to audiobook. Liked the narrators! "
Aug 01, 2025 05:52PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kent Nerburn and 3 other people liked Liz's review of Lone Dog Road: A Novel: "Lone Dog Road is more than a novel, it is an invitation to a sacred journey. I listened to the audiobook and found myself completely immersed, not only in the boys’ physical journey but in the deeper reckoning it invites with colonization, cultural d" Read more of this review »
Jul 31, 2025 12:41PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kent Nerburn liked Mary's review of Lone Dog Road: A Novel: "Outstanding read! This story was captivating from the first page. The lives, history, and beliefs of the Lakota at stake. The government man wants to take the youngest boy to the "boarding school", but this cannot happen as Reuben is "other-minded". " Read more of this review »
Jul 20, 2025 08:57PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kent Nerburn rated a book it was amazing Lone Dog Road: A Novel by Kent Nerburn (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 19, 2025 09:05AM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Kent Nerburn (?)

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance, and none can say while some fields will blossom and others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices in life no more easily made. And give. Give in any way you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than how is shared, and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.”
― Kent Nerburn

62 likes

“We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware – beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.”
― Kent Nerburn, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

tags: perspective

44 likes

“We wake up one day and find we have lost our dreams in order to protect our days.”
― Kent Nerburn

tags: life-dreams-survival

33 likes

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Author Read:

What author should we read next? We have already read books by J. California Cooper, Jhumpa Lahiri, Toni Morrison, Ellen Hopkins, Amy Tan, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Maya Angelou.

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