No Dogs or Indians

By: Lisa Hare

Narrated by: Janelle Tedesco

A Horse Fiction Book for Adults

Racism can linger in the strangest of places. Sometimes, even within yourself.

For Clara Lacroix, the past was the place she chose to dwell. That's where her memories of Boone, and the life they shared, resided.

But for Joe Black Hawk, the past was a painful mix of a fading heritage he didn't want to lose, and a string of mistakes he'd just as soon forget.

Spanning thousands of acres across the Sandhills of Nebraska, Crossroads Ranch operates as a mustang training facility and equine-assisted psychotherapy practice.

Here, in the beautifully rugged grasslands over which the Lakota Sioux once roamed freely, the lives of fifth-generation rancher, Clara LaCroix, and fifth-generation reservation Indian, Joe Black Hawk, collide in a tragic event that fuels an eruption of racial bitterness.

As each struggle to cope with their own personal loss, both must learn to navigate the present with tolerance and, ultimately, forgiveness in order to reconcile with the past and one another.

As the first novel to portray the process and effects of equine-assisted psychotherapy, No Dogs or Indians is the story about the importance of history, the relevance of ancestry, and the critical balance between remembering the roots that set us apart while celebrating the humanity that binds us together.

©2016 Lisa Hare (P)2016 Lisa Hare

Poignant, Emotional

What made the experience of listening to No Dogs or Indians the most enjoyable?

Enjoyment can come on many levels. Humor, entertainment, etc. "No Dogs or Indians" was thought provoking, sad, I came away with strong feelings for the animals and the people at the root of the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Clara and Joe, the main characters. The writing evokes the heritages of long time White and Native residents as they deal with life in Nebraska's ranching and plains areas. It's a gripping story! Well developed and Janelle Tedesco was an excellent choice as narrator.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story of the love between Clara and the horse Big Ben.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The perseverance to give value to the wild mustangs, overcoming or confronting prejudice. It was sad, but very much worth reading, listening to.

Any additional comments?

This is a very well written and narrated work of what are some of the folks that aren't flashy or famous but what makes the country carry on. No hair implants, no breast enhancements.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com

wonderfully written.

Gripping from the start.Excellent story of different people and perspectives but with faith and patients any thing can happen.I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily decided to review."

Ambitious mixture of themes

The characters in this book are dealing with a lot of different issues: dealing with grief, anger and hatred, racial stereotypes, using horses in therapy, the juvenile justice system, the plight of the wild mustangs, the treatment the Indian nations have received over the years, reservations, native religious beliefs, recovery from drug and alcohol abuse... What's interesting is the way the issues are interrelated. This could have been a really bleak story, but there are glimmers of hope. Change is possible, it just isn't necessarily easy.

The narrator did a wonderful job of differentiating the various characters. I was never confused about who was speaking.

No Dogs or Indians

Any additional comments?

Interesting, entertaining and engaging. The story itself is well written, heartbreaking and thought-provoking. It's one of those stories that stays with you long after you've finished it.

This story will make you stop and think. As the story unfolds it shows some the many different layers of discrimination that persist in our world. How our background effects each of us and how we think about certain things and events even though we may not realize it. Judging another ethnic group by just an idea or a bad past experience and how that can color your whole way of thinking if you let it.

Great characters. Especially loved Joe's character.
Joe's comparison between the plight wild mustangs and life on the reservation was powerful.

This book should be on a required reading list for High Schools.

Janelle Tedesco did a really good job with the narration. Pleasant voice easy to listen to for long periods of time. Perfect narrator for this book. Good character voices. Clearly spoken. Smooth even pace in the narration. She brought the characters to life. Very enjoyable

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

A rich story of the connections of people & horses

What made the experience of listening to No Dogs or Indians the most enjoyable?

Firstly I loved voice of the narrator. I have given up listening to voices that grate on me.
Her voice was perfect.

What was one of the most memorable moments of No Dogs or Indians?

There were too many to mention.

Which scene was your favorite?

I would have to say that I enjoyed the scenes that spoke of the beauty and space that the book was written in.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Everyone has a past and must learn to respect it without letting it devour you

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the subject matter and will recommend it to my friends. Need to also get the paper copy.
Pease continue with this narrator and don't switch.

Very Good

No Dogs or Indians...to have a nationality linked to an animal is a true form of racism. I hear about the racisms of so many nationalities, but, it is rare that I have had cause to think about the American Indians and how they may still feel they are being treated unfairly by the American people. Unfortunately, this author brings this racism to the forefront in this book. The story is one of hurt, revival, grace and redemption. In the end, one can only look within themselves and decide what they need to do to make a change. This is what the characters in book had to learn and fight for. One thing is for sure...this author does not blow smoke up anyone's skirt. Instead, she tackled everything head on.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and Janelle Tedesco is a talented narrator. She brings to life the characters via her voice and tells the story through the narrations. I never felt as though I was being 'read to'. Great performance!

Mustangs and Natives

"We all have days when the darkness we carry overpowers our light." Truer words were never spoken and everyone can relate to this in some way.

This book was amazing! It was full of heartbreak and characters dealing with grief, but there was always hope in even the worst of times. Very poignant and thought-provoking but with enough humor to keep from being depressing.

The author does a wonderful job with her descriptions of the character's emotions and feelings and I truly felt like I knew them. She intertwined the main characters in a unique way and I enjoyed witnessing their changing feelings as the story progressed. She dealt with racial prejudices in a truthful and accurate way.

The ways that she meshed the plight of Native Americans with that of the wild mustangs was very well done and believable. Ms. Hare obviously did an extensive amount of research into the way that the mustangs are caught, trained and auctioned by the BLM and I especially enjoyed the scenes with the descriptions of the horses. But, this is so much more than "just" a horse story. The depiction of the Native Americans and their continued struggles with Reservation life and addictions were spot on and really made me think.

The ending, though heartbreaking, also offered some hope. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Native way of life or the treatment of wild mustangs. I think it would be especially helpful to anyone who interacts with Native Americans on a frequent basis. I know that it changed my way of thinking in a lot of ways.

The narrator, Janelle Tedesco, does a wonderful job and really added a lot to this book. Her voices were perfect and it was often hard to believe that there was only one narrator. I was given the opportunity to listen to this book by the author and chose to review it.

No Dogs or Indians

This book was incredible, I really had no knowledge of what I was about to listen to other than the blurb and I was so intrigued.

This book opened my eyes to a lot of things I was maybe naive about. The story itself is inspiring and really got in my head made me think. I couldn’t stop once I got started, the story all the characters have a story to tell and way it all comes out and is woven just well it blew me away.

I was rooting for everyone and oddly enough even in the sad parts, I was still hopeful.

The narration really adds something to this book, she never forced a voice or accent it was so fluid I could have sworn there was more than one narrator. Truly a gift with voices.

Unexpectedly Not Formulaic

I enjoyed the story. It was a bit trite at times but did not have the sappy ending I expected - which is very good!

I absolutely hated the voice of the psychiatrist. If there's any way to re-record this with a different voice, please do! Every time her voice was used, I grimaced.

Reader brings story to life

I loved this book. The characters have great back-stories and I like how their lives converge in this emotion-filled tale. I would love to know what happens next in the lives of these characters. The reader is fantastic! Her ability to do different voices (both male and female) for each character brought the story to life. I literally wept for these characters as their journey unfolded. As an avid audiobook listener, I will definitely look for more books read by Janelle Tedesco.