TEMPLE, Texas — Students at Temple’s Kennedy-Powell Elementary had two special visitors on Wednesday (April 13), as New York Times best-selling author Dion Leonard visited the campus along with his dog Gobi. Leonard spoke to the students about how he met Gobi and how that experience helped lead to the creation of his bestseller “Finding Gobi”.
Leonard was a corporate executive in sales and marketing when he decided it was time to make a complete lifestyle change. Leonard took up ultra marathon running and during one of his ultra running events, he had another life-changing experience. Leonard was competing in a 155-mile ultra race through the Gobi Desert when a stray dog began running alongside him. The dog became his running companion through the rest of the grueling seven-day event and the two formed an unbreakable bond that would become the ultimate challenge of overcoming adversity to achieve the unachievable. Leonard would go on to adopt the dog and turn the story of their meeting and friendship into the basis for his book. “Finding Gobi” has gone on to become a bestseller and a movie based on the book is also in the works. Leonard has since published another book, “Lara the Runaway Cat”, and he is also an inspirational speaker while continuing his ultra running career. Leonard shared the story of meeting Gobi with the students and he hopes they took a specific message home from his visit.
“Be kind to others and be kind to animals. You never know where life can take you,” Leonard said after visiting with the students. “It is an amazing journey and one act of kindness changed my life when I met Gobi. I hope the kids learn something from that. If you had told me when I was a 13-year old boy that I would be a New York Times best-selling author with a movie deal, I never would have believed that. If this story inspires someone to go out and do something amazing than I’ve touched someone’s life and that brings me a lot of joy.”
Kennedy-Powell librarian Kristin Childress helped organize a fundraising read-a-thon for the school’s students. The hard work the students put into that project, along with the money raised, helped make Leonard’s visit a reality. Childress says she is proud of the student’s hard work and is excited that their efforts helped lead to what for many of them may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I’m not sure how many of our students would have ever gotten the chance to meet and hear from a best-selling author in person,” said Childress. “Now, they can hold this book, point to Dion Leonard’s name and say that they have seen and heard from him. To be able to hear the story about this book directly from him is an incredible opportunity and will hopefully lead to a lifetime love of reading for some of these students.”
Students also could purchase autographed copies of “Finding Gobi” to take home after the presentation.