Lara The Runaway Cat: One cat’s journey to discover home is where the heart is

Written by Dion Leonard and Sophie Pembroke

Narrated by Candida Gubbins

Lara the Runaway Cat tells the story of Gobi, the loveable pup who followed Dion Leonard across a gruelling 155-mile trek across the Gobi Desert, and her mischievous cat sister, Lara, who runs away from her family, seeking a courageous adventure and different life.

Lara doesn’t realise how good she has it in her home in Edinburgh with her owners, Dion and Lucja, and of course her sister, Gobi. If she’s being honest, she’s jealous of Gobi’s fame and the international attention she has received ever since Dion found her. Okay, Gobi may have survived an ultra-marathon across the Gobi Desert, but it’s not as if Lara doesn’t earn her fresh prawns! She dreams about the day when she can go outdoors and see the world, discover new friends and be free to make her own name.

But Lara’s wishful thinking gets the better of her as she takes a leap into the unknown and is forced to decide between her loyalties to her family and need to experience an adventure to rival Gobi’s. Join Lara in her eventful travels from Edinburgh to France, Beijing to Australia, where she is faced with challenges that will change her life forever.

Following on from the astounding real-life story of Dion Leonard, this fictionalised tale is a must-read for animal lovers everywhere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9780008316297

Dion Leonard

Dion Leonard is an ultramarathon runner who has raced across the planet’s most inhospitable landscapes, such as the brutal Moroccan Sahara desert and South Africa’s Kalahari Desert. One race across the Gobi Desert in China turned out to be a completely different experience when Dion fell in love with a stray dog (later named Gobi) who followed him during the week and completed the race alongside him. Today, Dion and Gobi, along with Dion’s wife, Lucja, share Gobi’s amazing story in their bestselling books and speaking events.