Kent Nerburn Books in Order

Set on the drought‑stricken plains of 1950, this novel follows two Lakota brothers fleeing a government agent who wants to send the younger to boarding school, as their flight turns into a quest to replace a broken sacred pipe and reclaim family honor.

Written as a candid letter to young artists, this book looks at the unseen joys and hard truths of a creative life, from money worries and rejection to inspiration and purpose, offering clear‑eyed encouragement to keep making work that matters.

Drawing on decades among Native communities, Nerburn shares stories of feasts, ceremonies, and roadside conversations with elders, revealing life lessons about humility, respect, and listening to the land that can reshape how non‑Native readers see the world.

Reworked from his earlier meditations on a northern land, this collection of essays listens to storms, trees, buffalo, and winter roads, honoring both Native teachings and Western faith as it explores how the living earth speaks to attentive hearts.

Haunted by a recurring dream, Nerburn follows a trail through Lakota and Ojibwe country to a mysterious young girl, a buried asylum, and elders who hold pieces of the story, blending history, mystery, and spiritual teaching into one final journey.

In brief, graceful essays, Nerburn turns small encounters—a child’s graduation, a funeral on a reservation, a kite over desert wind—into meditations on how everyday moments can reveal shared humanity and the quiet presence of the sacred.

A cryptic note and the death of an old dog pull Nerburn back to the reservation, where Dan asks him to help uncover what happened to a childhood friend lost in the boarding‑school years, leading into a journey through ghosts, secrets, and healing.

Completing the trilogy begun with Simple Truths and Small Graces, this book looks past the surface of ordinary encounters—a boy on a bicycle, a school ceremony, a stranger in a store—to uncover the subtle, often surprising ways grace shows up in daily life.

In a series of concise reflections, Nerburn offers practical guidance on education, work, money, love, loneliness, and death, encouraging readers to ground everyday decisions in kindness, integrity, and a willingness to keep learning.

Combining history, travel, and biography, Nerburn retells the 1877 flight of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce across the American West, following them beyond surrender into years of exile and tracing how one man became both myth and tireless advocate.

Called to a Lakota reservation to meet an elderly storyteller named Dan, writer Kent Nerburn is drawn into a winding road trip across the Dakotas, listening as Dan and his friend Grover unravel hard truths about history, land, and responsibility.

Feeling restless in a Minnesota winter, Nerburn drives the length of the West Coast with his family, meeting drifters, dreamers, and everyday locals as he searches the beaches and back roads of Washington, Oregon, and California for some sense of home.

Drawing on personal stories and his work with Native communities, Nerburn explores forgiveness as a daily practice, from small slights to deep betrayals, inviting readers to let go of anger and walk a quieter, more generous path through pain.

Edited by Nerburn, this volume gathers speeches, writings, and recorded words from Native leaders such as Chief Joseph, Black Elk, Ohiyesa, and others, distilling their teachings on land, community, and spirit into short, powerful passages.

Using the famous prayer of St Francis as a framework, Nerburn pairs each line with real stories from his life and others, showing how small acts of courage, forgiveness, and kindness can turn ordinary days into quiet works of compassion.

Through short sketches of dawn coffee, changing weather, family dinners, and walks in the woods, Nerburn invites readers to slow down and notice the small gifts that give each day texture, meaning, and a sense of quiet gratitude.

Through poetic vignettes set on the Great Plains and in the northern woods, Nerburn reflects on storms, seasons, animals, and Ojibwe communities, tracing how the land itself shapes the human heart and hinting at an American spirituality rooted in place.

In this collection of intimate essays written to his son, Nerburn shares plainspoken reflections on love, work, travel, money, faith, and strength, offering steady guidance for anyone trying to grow into a decent, thoughtful adult.

This compact anthology gathers sayings, speeches, and observations from Native American thinkers across many nations, arranged as brief quotes that highlight their views on nature, community, leadership, and the responsibilities of living well.