Hardcover, 334 pages
English language
Published Sept. 11, 2019 by Knopf Publishing Group.
A heartwarming story about training a rescue donkey to run one of the most challenging races in America.
When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived, Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move, and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body but to heal his mind as well. It turns out the best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job, and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run. He'd heard about burro racing--a unique type of race where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to …
A heartwarming story about training a rescue donkey to run one of the most challenging races in America.
When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived, Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move, and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body but to heal his mind as well. It turns out the best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job, and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run. He'd heard about burro racing--a unique type of race where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to mining days--and decided he and Sherman would enter the World Championship in Colorado.
Easier said than done. In the course of Sherman's training, Chris would have to recruit several other runners, both human and equine, and call upon the wisdom of burro racers, goat farmers, Amish running club members, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers. Along the way, he shows us the life-changing power of animals, nature, and community.
McDougall influenced me like many others with Born to Run and this book landed in my lap, so I went for it. Probably won't be as life-changing a read for me, but you never know. Taking a donkey's perspective for a while was a relief, and the portrayal of Sherman's community is rich and admirable.
"A job? What was I going to do with a donkey, prospect for gold? Pioneer westward?"
I went into this with zero expectations beyond "this is a story about a donkey, and I like animals". I was delightfully surprised to see how lighthearted, cheerful, and wholesome the story was, and by the end I was absolutely rooting for Sherman and his merry band. Sherman was rescued from an animal hoarder, and during the process of rehabilitation, a friend told the author that for a donkey to find joy in life, they have to have a purpose. That purpose, it ended up being, was to be a racer in the donkey race World Championships in Colorado.
The book was a little meandering in places, as fair warning. The strict format of the book is, he runs into a problem involving Sherman's training or the race, he meets someone/knows someone/is put in …
"A job? What was I going to do with a donkey, prospect for gold? Pioneer westward?"
I went into this with zero expectations beyond "this is a story about a donkey, and I like animals". I was delightfully surprised to see how lighthearted, cheerful, and wholesome the story was, and by the end I was absolutely rooting for Sherman and his merry band. Sherman was rescued from an animal hoarder, and during the process of rehabilitation, a friend told the author that for a donkey to find joy in life, they have to have a purpose. That purpose, it ended up being, was to be a racer in the donkey race World Championships in Colorado.
The book was a little meandering in places, as fair warning. The strict format of the book is, he runs into a problem involving Sherman's training or the race, he meets someone/knows someone/is put in contact with someone who can fix the problem, and then you get a chapter or two about this person's history and why they're involved with donkeys or marathons or any number of tangents. The author knows a lot of people as it turns out, and this pattern can get a bit tedious in the middle. The ending is also a bit abrupt, and I would have liked more detail about how things wrapped up.
All in all though, I really enjoyed this donkey/human story. I liked the messages of persistence and confronting things that scare you, and am glad I spent time reading this book.
