English 
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Français du Canada The Dog from Harbin.
A memoir written by someone whose way of seeing the world was transformed by living in China.
In 2006, while living in Harbin, Todd Cornell brought home a six-week-old West Siberian Laika puppy.
Neither of them knew they were beginning a journey that would span two continents, thirteen and a half years, and a lifetime of memories.
This is not a travel book about China. It’s a book about belonging somewhere you could have never imagined. But most of all, it’s about the dog who always knew where home was.
💛 Follow Rascal’s journey: Facebook.com/RascalFromHarbin
The Four Seasons of Rascal
This is the story of a Westerner who didn’t just visit China — he lived inside it. For two decades, Todd Cornell built a life in Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Harbin, and beyond, navigating language, culture, and belonging at a depth seldom seen.
And then there was Rascal: a West Siberian Laika purchased at a Harbin street market for a handful of yuan — small enough to fit in one hand and a heart large enough to change everything.
Told through the four seasons of a life — 春夏秋冬 — this memoir follows the journey of one man and his dog from North China to the American West.
It is a book about cultural immersion, about what it means to truly belong somewhere so different, about love expressed without a shared language, and about the particular grief of loving an animal across a lifetime.
No expat memoir has told this story from the inside — not through a dog, and not across two continents.
Includes the author’s original Chinese short story, 《我的中国狗》
For readers of: The Art of Racing in the Rain · Hachiko · River Town · Wild · A Year in Provence · Marley & Me
Themes: China · Cultural identity · Expat life · Human-animal bond · Cross-cultural belonging · Memory · Loss
Publication date: June 15, 2026
Publisher: Cultur668 Publishing
Author: Todd Cornell (康鸿熹)
Television clips from 'Rascal's Harbin Cable TV Special' and a talk show
On Chinese television, talking about the day I found Rascal at a Harbin street market. “To the trained eye, most of the animals were lethargic from lack of nutrition. Vendors didn’t feed them well — holding off until a prospective buyer was nearby, then offering cornmeal or a cheap staple to spark energy. This made them appear playful.”
From a special on Harbin Cable TV — Rascal and his toy basket. He knew exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it. And sometimes, just sometimes, he even put things back.
From a special on Harbin Cable TV — Rascal on his treadmill. He ran twice a day, thirty minutes each time. And he always got a treat after!
Available in (black & white) Reader’s Edition (paperback) and Kindle on June 15, 2026.
Collector’s Edition (full-color) with original watercolor illustrations by Beijing artist 姜铁成 — also available June 15, 2026.
RascalTheBook.com