People might recognize Christopher McDougall as the best selling author of “Born to Run,” his book about training with and learning from the Tarahumara tribe who live a reclusive existence in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. That book introduced readers to the idea that we are all born to run, and by adopting some ideas from those who have been running barefoot for generations, we might learn something. 

This book is similar in that it begins as a personal project and then turns into a story worthy of a book. McDougall’s project is adopting a very sick donkey after moving to rural Pennsylvania with his wife and daughters, but when the donkey gets nursed back to health, Chris turns the project into a much bigger goal: competing in the burro racing Western championships in Colorado. 

So this is the story of teaching Sherman the donkey not only to walk, but to run and cross streams and scale up steep slopes harnessed to a runner next to him. Since all this training takes not only extra people, but extra donkeys, in the end, it’s a trio of donkeys–Sherman, Flower, and Matilda–along with Chris, his wife Mika, and his neighbor Zeke, who plan to join the other (much more experienced) burro racers in Fairplay Colorado for an 15 mile event that starts at 10,000 feet. 

The story brings out the many setbacks and triumphs of nursing sick Sherman back to life and into something that will give him purpose. And it’s truly a team effort: their goat becomes Sherman’s first friend which boosts his initial recovery, the Amish neighbors offer all sorts of equipment and advice, a donkey training neighbor basically lays out the whole program, complete strangers offer to drive them out to Colorado using their own horse trailer, and the burro racing community welcomes and encourages these newcomers from Pennsylvania. 

One of the most interesting aspects of this book are the many, many side stories and tangents that McDougall adds. Like many non-fiction authors, he has a main story, but so many sub stories are part of bringing out that main story – and as such, the book develops into something more than just a donkey story. While these tangents sometimes get a little long, we learn a lot: Zeke, the neighbor and fellow trainer is home from college, having suffered from severe depression and is using animal training/animal relationships, along with cold water plunges, and lots of running to heal himself.  We meet the son of a great Colorado burro racer who has autism, and the family discovers that taking care of and riding animals is the best method to calm him, so he does his schoolwork while riding a horse. The Amish and Mennonite neighbors each become integral to Chris’s family as they settle into their rural life. 

So by the end of the book, we know a whole lot about donkey training and donkey personalities and burro racing in Colorado as well as rural Pennsylvania farm life, and issues related to mental health and neurodivergence and Amish customs and the importance of smiling while running.

In other words, a lot more than donkey training. But the sweet and salty donkeys are still the stars of the book. It kinda makes you want one.