Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall isn’t a great book, but darned if I didn’t enjoy it anyway.
If you were a Horse Girl like me growing up, you probably read at least half a dozen books were a young person finds and rescues a seriously neglected horse, nurses them back to health, and then goes on to win a race or similar competition. This book is like that, but with a donkey.
When McDougall gives in to his daughter’s entreaty to adopt a donkey (they live on farm land in Amish country, so this isn’t an unreasonable request), he ends up with Sherman, an animal so neglected that he’s not only on death’s door, he doesn’t seem to have a will to live. His friends advise him that in addition to seeing to Sherman’s physical ailments, he needs to give that donkey a job, something to live for. So he decides that he’s going to turn this pitiful creature into a contender for burro racing.
Did you know burro racing was a thing? I didn’t. Apparently it involves running up mountains with your donkey laden down with traditional mining equipment. Not something I would ever want to do, but it’s just wacky enough to make for a good book.
Like any underdog sports story, McDougall takes his time introducing you to the team. Sure, burro racing can be just you and your donkey, but it turns out that Sherman is a social little guy, so over the course of the book, the team grows to three donkeys and three humans, as well as a number of support team members.
This book meanders a lot, delving into the author’s past, the roots of donkey racing, the backgrounds of the members of the team and support crew, and of course, giving us lots of training montages as humans and beasts work to build their stamina, overcome their fears, and learn to run together.
My two biggest complaints about the book are that sometimes it meanders a bit too far, maybe getting a little too much into the weeds, and I think it embraces some questionable science. I feel the author doesn’t necessary directly overstate/overblow the value of exercise and time with animals for mental health and other health issues, but he certainly encourages the reader to make some overblown assumptions, if that makes sense.
One of his teammates also gets big into the teachings of Wim Hof, the “iceman” who makes ridiculous claims about the benefits of his cold-resisting breathing techniques. It looks like the biggest complaints about Hof came out after the book was published, but at the same time….
An early chapter includes a brief interlude about Cesar Milan, the so-called Dog Whisperer. Even though throughout the book, it’s established that you can’t bully a donkey into doing what you want, he talks to a trainer who is well-known for his dominance-based tactics? I’m literally begging society to get over the love affair with Milan (I get it, he’s charming, and footage of him skating with a ton of bully breeds is fun, but his training techniques are harmful) and replace him with a reinforcement+ trainer who can get people back on the right path with their dogs. Or donkeys. Or whatever.
So the thing is, while I found this book an enjoyable read, I’d really hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I don’t want to seem like I’m also signing off on all the dubious science that comes packaged with this feel-good underdog (underdonkey?) story.
CWs and TWs: In addition to dubious experts, this book contains descriptions of abused/neglected animals; discussions of mental illness, suicidal ideation, and attempted and successful suicides; human injury and illness; very brief discussion of butchering. Oh, and a description of how one must clean/maintain a neutered donkey’s penis, ensuring I will never want to own a neutered donkey. The author very deliberately does not use explicit language.
Source and Format: I read this as a paperback purchased at Brick & Mortar Books.
Book Bingo Prompts
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): Beyond Sports. I don’t enjoy participating in or watching sports, so if I’m going to read something even tangentially related to sports, it’s going to be about something wacky like high-altitude donkey racing. And this book does in fact go beyond sports, with its musings about mental health, life in Amish country, and more.
Brick & Mortar: Recommended by a Brick & Mortar Books Staff Member. I picked this up thanks to a great shelf-talker written by Tina.
Current Bingo Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 5 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 3 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Brick & Mortar: 12 out of 25 prompts complete. 1 bingo.