Lucky: A True Story

by David Green, Judy D'Mello, Steve Friedman (foreword)

Slumdog Millionaire meets Forrest Gump

In 2018, under a full moon in the remote Mantiqueira mountain range in Brazil, a sickly stray dog chose to follow a runner during the Brazil 135 ultramarathon. He stayed by his side for 150 miles.

Fast forward to 2021, when Lucky the stray, now living the life in Florida, set off with his ultrarunner soulmate, David Green, on the journey of their lives — a four-month run covering 3,400 miles from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, to Muir Beach, California. Their route took them through a nation ravaged by Covid-19 and still reeling from the most toxic presidential election in history. An RV became their nightly retreat-on-wheels, captained by Chris, an affable chef from Brooklyn, who would provide so much more than food.

This is David’s honest account, his love letter to Lucky, after three short years together, during which time they inspired each other to break barriers of what is thought possible for dogs and humans -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

330 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2024

Reviews

[Shannon Frizzell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As my kids would say, if there's a picture of a dog on the cover, the dog is gonna die. Truth. David Green is a wealthy, driven, elite, long distance runner. He is also a bit of a narcissistic, selfish asshole. And that is according to his own wife. He makes his cross country trip with a paid assistant and a dying dog. What really cements his role as an asshole is when he runs one of the last legs of his journey on a state highway (can't do that!) and even when he is asked to get off the highway he refuses. Apparently his run is more important than the impact he might have on others. The people who love him or the potential motorist that could accidentally kill or maim him. And then, he has someone else write his book and his name is in a bigger font! All that said, his grit and determination is admirable. But I still don't want to be his friend.

[Jan Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for all! I could not put it down!

I started this book Wednesday afternoon and finished it Thursday noon, as I could not put it down! David Green told his story magnificently with such compassion and love. And what a story!! I laughed, especially reading the Breaking Bad event in Nebraska, and I certainly did my share of crying. Chef Chris did an amazing job of nurturing David during their journey, plus his poems were a complete bonus to the book. After finishing the book, I hugged my dog, Toots, for a long, long time as David captured the love between a dog and it's owner perfectly.

Kudos to all three, Lucky, Dave and Chris! Kudos to Grammy Clea also. She was one heck of a force for David.
Jan Kruger

[Kristin Daley · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge dog lover and runner myself, I was looking forward to reading this book. However, I was very disappointed how much the author alluded to all of the wokeness of 2020. You can absolutely sense he’s a liberal and that’s the last thing I wanted to read about. Other than that I fell in love with Lucky. What an amazing dog!

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I'm a dog lover. Very few things matter more to me than my pups, and I wanted to love and enjoy this book. However, the author chose a different path, and while I respect his desire to do so, I do not agree with it and I did not pick up a book about an amazing dog to be fed political messages that are very one sided. He dances between the dog story, his own story, and running, and I enjoy that aspect, but then he enters in "right wing" to describe a politician. He also throws in how COVID and politics involved in that ordeal. Simply put, I had enough and decided this is not the book for me. I think the book at potential to be 3-4/5 but I could not give that because of this discussion. I imagine some will still enjoy this book despite this, but I could not. Politics are toxic most of the time and I am not interested in feeding that toxicity.

[Amanda Bennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is my truth:
It has never taken me this long to finish any book. However, this one, well, I didn't want it to end. I would put it down and just pretend that I wasn't currently reading any book at all. (Which is never true, I always have a book to finish!)
Lucky: A True Story wasn't just a story. It is about life. A beautiful journey. Empowering. I thank my forever friend, Lisa, for sharing it with me and I thank David Green for sharing it with everyone.

[Diana Krause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Lucky looks and acts like my dog Swagger.He is so loyal and never leaves my side.Everyone just loves him and he loves to give kisses too. My Swagger is a runner too,he is 10 now but still loves his long walks.You could never tell he was 10.With a Herat of th old ,I understand the bond you two shared as I feel that too.

[Will Postma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a good dog book! Super interesting story of David running across the US. Fast paced and entertaining story. Lucky is goated. Pretty frustrating when he starts the trip looking to better understand the divide in America after Covid and get it from the people in each community. But then heavily pushes one side without even truly listening to the other side.

[Patricia L .Jex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 5 star story, well written, interesting, compelling. Were it not for the offensive language, I would give it 5 stars. But it is offensive, and not what I want in my head. I find it disrespectful on the part of the author to include it in their narratives. This is not common speech among polite society, no matter how much the media promotes it. Please do better.

[Linda Krasnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of special interest to me because the author's grandmother, mother, and his mother's partner all lived at Eskaton where I live. I knew them all. It was a heartwarming relationship between the author and his dog and their amazing exploit of running across the U.S.... REALLY!

[Krista Alderdice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written…..cried so many tears. Wish I could have met you Lucky, amazing how animals can bring humans together 🫶🏻I had a chance to share a few miles with David at the VT100 & he told me about his amazing friend, Lucky. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us all.

[Judy Deutch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook- 9 hours 28 minutes- 330 pages - Outstanding! David, Chris & dog Lucky (from Brazil) take a cross country running trip- they meet so many wonderful people on their journey; Lucky develops cancer & dies 2/3rd through the book; I can see why people love dogs

[Peggy L. Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great book, I couldn't put it down. I love true stories about the bond between a humane and their dog, Deep relationships between characters .

[Tracy Abramovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucky

A heartfelt story of love and resilience. The connection between man and dog. And a glorious tale of two mates.

[K. Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF.
I hate running, did not realize this was a running story. Read about 15%. Plus could not read about a dog with lymphoma since my boy died of it 5/2025.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible and interesting story of a unique bond between a man and a stray dog , their journey of running ultra marathons together, and the resilient spirit of each of them as they endured and conquered many difficult days running across America together during covid.Also along the journey was their companion, RV driver, and chef extraordinaire who was there for them every step of the way to fortify them with food, meet them with the RV for evening sleeps, and keep them organized and on track! Definitely need tissues for the read.