Likely Stories - Running With Sherman by Christopher MacDougall

It may sound weird, but I think many of you will be running to your nearest bookstore to pick it up after you hear the premise of this true story. Sherman the donkey’s plight looked very grim at the beginning of this memoir. He was found at the home of an animal hoarder and was near death. His body was breaking down, matted fur, bloated and hooves so overgrown they were compared to witches’ claws.

Scott MacDougall, author of Born To Run, lived nearby in Pennsylvania Mennonite Country and was asked to foster that traumatized ghost of an animal. MacDougall brought Sherman to his farm and he commenced his rescue mission .

Over the course of Sherman’s rehab, MacDougall’s animals became very protective of this depressed donkey. It reminded me of a real-life version of the movie, Babe! Best supporting characters are Lawrence, the destructive billy goat and another grumpy white goat proned to fainting named Chili Dog.

Scott knew that donkeys are at their happiest when they are performing a task and after doing research, discovered the little-known sport of burro racing and made plans to enter the biggest burro race in Leadville, CO.

Throughout the course of this memoir, we are treated to pictures of Sherman’s transformation as he and Scott train for the burro racing event. Sherman gets healthy and truly comes alive during the process. He and Scott make friends and racing partners along the journey, most notably donkeys Flower and Matilda and their trainer Tanya.

The reader will fall in love with all the animals and cheer hard for a sport you most likely knew nothing about before cracking open this book.

I think the overarching feel of this book that makes it a perennial favorite hand sell for me is seeing how a little attention, care, and love for another living being can transform a life. At the beginning of the story, Sherman was a few hours from being put down and was deeply depressed. At the end, the reader finds a passage that is hard to read without getting choked up.

“Neither Tanya nor I really had the energy to wrestle Flower into the trailer, but amazingly, she ambled right in as soon as Tanya opened the door.

“Well Well” Tanya said, impressed. “You must have taught her a thing or two.”

But my secret was blown a few minutes later when we came over the hill toward home and Flower saw Sherman and Matilda waiting for her at the fence. Flower brayed in excitement, and then they all cut loose, the three of them yodeling a donkey song of love. Tanya smiled and shot me a glance. They only think I’d really taught Sherman, she knew, was that he’d never be alone again.

I recommend this book for animal lovers, sports lovers, and feel good stories of the power of the human (and donkey) spirit. Until the next episode of A Likely Story, I wish you a pile of good books and a cozy reading spot.