"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.