Category Archives: book review

Donkey Lessons

By Tess Perko, author of LEARNING TO WHISTLE, a Winner for Women’s Fiction in the 2026 International Book Awards

Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall is the story of a donkey, Sherman, that McDougall and his family rescue from an abusive home. The author recounts Sherman’s liberation, the donkey’s trauma and fear, and his eventual healing as he, his wife, and their community help Sherman build a new life. McDougall, a former war correspondent for the Associated Press, uses narration and journalism expertise in his chronicle of Sherman’s tale. He includes stories about the lives of his Amish neighbors and the various individuals who inspire him as he nurses Sherman back to health. Sherman is adorable. MacDougall is big-hearted and persistent. The story is heart-warming and satisfying, but it also is much more than a story about a rescued donkey. By the time readers turn the last page, they are enthralled in the effort to heal Sherman and wiser about how to improve their own lives. Read further to discover just five of the lessons readers can glean from Sherman’s tale.

Abuse Creates Profound Mistrust and Fear

The story begins with Sherman’s rescue. A hoarder of animals has kept Sherman tied up in a dark and tiny cell inside a muddy broken-down barn, a space so small the donkey can barely move. His legs are mired in mud. When Sherman is brought to MacDougall’s farm, he has grossly overgrown hooves, filthy matted fur, intestinal parasites, and impaired digestion. The donkey is in severe pain and could possibly die. When the author puts Sherman in a pasture, he hangs his head and barely moves. Even after MacDougall arranges for the trimming of the donkey’s hooves, the shearing of his fur, and daily nutritious food, Sherman remains motionless and withdrawn. Finally, Lawrence, one of MacDougall’s chummy goats adopts Sherman as his new friend, and the donkey begins to trust other animals. It takes months, however, until he builds up enough courage to trust the new humans in his life.

Every Life Needs a Purpose

One of MacDougall’s friends, Tanya, a lover of donkeys, suggests that Sherman needs a purpose to help him overcome his abuse. Donkeys have no use on a farm, so MacDougal uses his imagination. He once had participated in a burro race in Leadville, Colorado, but had failed to get his donkey, Blue Note, to run the whole course. Eventually, he aborted the race and accepted that he was inept at donkey-racing. Nevertheless, with a bit of over-confidence, MacDougal, a runner himself, decides to train Sherman to race. As he endeavors to train the donkey, readers realize it isn’t important whether he ever gets Sherman to run in an actual race. Once he has a purpose, the donkey’s days are filled with nutritious food, healthcare, the companionship of two other donkeys, three humans, and hours of stimulating training.   

Animals Feel and Think, Too

Humans have the tendency to believe that animals lack feelings and the ability to think. Sherman’s story, however, is filled with instances that prove animals have feelings, do think, and adjust their behavior accordingly. For example, when Lawrence, the goat, first meets Sherman, he takes time to sniff Sherman’s body, evaluating his needs and condition. After his thoughtful sniffing, Lawrence lies down next to the donkey and stays with him all night. Lawrence recognizes that Sherman needs nurturing.

All of the donkeys in the story prove that they can feel and think. One day, MacDougall and his wife try to take Sherman and another donkey, Matilda, out for a run without the third donkey, Flower. When they leave Flower behind in the pasture, she wails in utter despair. Sherman and Matilda try to turn around repeatedly to return to the pasture with Flower, and the day’s training is a disaster.

Humans Benefit from their Animal Friends

One of the most satisfying aspects of this story is when readers realize that MacDougall and his friends benefit from their relationships with the animals as much as the animals benefit from them. One of MacDougall’s neighbors has a son, Zeke, who quits attending college after he attempts to commit suicide. MacDougall recruits him to run with the donkeys. Zeke spends hours training with Sherman and the two develop good communication and trust.  The training sessions improve both of their lives, providing them with purpose and a distraction from their individual traumas. Later, Zeke breaks his foot and can’t participate in the Colorado burro race, but he still goes to the race and supports Sherman before and after the event.

Relationships Are More Valuable than Getting Rich

In one chapter, MacDougall discusses the values of the Amish culture, which are health, happiness, and security. A man he knows, Sam, tells him about his uncle who started making money by fixing buggy carriages. His reputation grew so much that he was hired to fix carriages for Disney and the Smithsonian. These jobs made him lots of money, but took him away from his family and community. Instead of his life improving, he was no longer happy and content. Finally, he gave his business to his nephews and moved his family to a small farm. Why?  To devote himself to his family and community and to regain his health, happiness, and security.

The lessons of Sherman’s story are profound. Have compassion for people and animals who experience trauma. A purpose can enrich the life of anyone, even if its ultimate goal is never achieved. Humans can improve the lives of animals, and animals can enhance human lives. And finally, the most precious aspect of life are the connections we make with other people and other living beings.

Tess Perko is the author of LEARNING TO WHISTLE, published in 2026 by She Writes Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, a Winner for Women’s Fiction in the 2026 International Book Awards.

WISDOM from LITTLE WOMEN

By Tess Perko, author of LEARNING TO WHISTLE, a Winner for Women’s Fiction in the 2026 International Book Awards

I just finished rereading LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa M. Alcott. I read this novel when I was a girl, but decided to take another look at it from a woman’s perspective. The story, based on the lives of the March family and their rich neighbors, Mr. Lawrence and Laurie, endures because its characters are flawed, endearing, and memorable. My favorite character is still Jo, one of the four March sisters, the one who writes; I identify with Jo’s yearning for independence, love of language, and passion for story-telling. But, besides its enduring characters, the novel is chock full of advice for life. Here is some of the wisdom I found among its pages as I read it for the second time.

Everyone struggles.

      Each of the eight main characters in LITTLE WOMEN struggle. Mrs. March gets angry and works hard to overcome it. Mr. March struggles with illness and from being separated from his family. Meg wants pretty things, but she is married to a poor man. Jo wants to be an independent woman, but she’s limited by what society allows women to do. Beth suffers from poor health. Amy desires to be sophisticated, but she doesn’t possess a fine vocabulary or wealth. Mr. Laurence pines for his lost son, and his grandson, Laurie, struggles with laziness and lack of purpose.

      Alcott illustrates these personal hardships so vividly that readers soon realize that everyone has difficulties in life even if they don’t talk about them. For example, Jo never realized that her seemingly serene mother had to struggle to control her anger until she revealed it during a private conversation.

      Self-reflection helps individuals overcome hardships and grow.

      The March family is comprised of extremely self-reflective characters. For example, Meg is so self-aware that when she has her own children, her mother helps her to reflect on how she has ignored her relationship with her husband while trying to be the perfect mother. Someone with less reflection would never admit to this personal failing. Once Meg sees the error of her behavior, she invites her husband, John, to participate in parenting and also sets aside time to spend with him alone.

      Travel helps people gain a larger perspective.

      Several of the characters in LITTLE WOMEN travel, including Mr. March and Mr. Lawrence, yet the excursions of Jo, Amy, and Laurie illustrate best how travel helps individuals develop a larger perspective. Jo takes a job in New York as a nanny where she meets Friedrich Bhaer. As she develops a friendship with him, she learns how much she appreciates his scholarship, humility, and the opportunity to be his equal. If she hadn’t gone to New York, she wouldn’t have discovered what type of man suited her.

      Amy travels across Europe with her rich friends, thinking to find a prosperous husband.She meets Fred Vaughn who is wealthy, and, if he proposes, she plans to accept even though she doesn’t love him. Yet, while she is waiting for Fred to propose, travel teaches her that she’d rather be a “lovable woman” than a woman of high society.

      Laurie’s grandfather convinces him to travel to Europe after Jo turns down his proposal of marriage.For the first six months, he spends money on frivolous activities, engages in gossip, and has no purpose. Finally, he meets Amy in Nice, and she scolds him for his wantonness.  They have a heart-to-heart talk about his unrequited love for Jo, and, surprisingly, fall in love with each other. Their love never would have developed without distance from the March family and, especially, from Jo.

      Grief is devastating, but can be healed.

      The saddest part of LITTLE WOMEN is when Beth dies from complications due to Scarlet Fever. For months before her death, Jo cares for her day and night, sleeping in the same room and monitoring each and every need she has. She even takes her to the ocean in the hopes that it will heal her. But, in the end, Beth dies. Jo suffers terribly with her loss. Finally, she confides in her father and together they find comfort in sharing their grief. She also assumes some of Beth’s housekeeping chores. She sings Beth’s songs and adopts Beth’s decorative habits. Over time, these activities bring her a sense of peace.

      Kindness mitigates almost any situation.

      LITTLE WOMEN includes several selfish moments such as when Amy burns Jo’s book in retaliation for Jo’s dismissive behavior toward her one night. Yet, the story also is filled with numerous examples of kindness which result in strengthening the bonds between the characters in the story. On Christmas morning, Mrs. March and her four daughters give away their own breakfast and firewood to a mother and her six starving children down the street which relieves their cold and hunger. When news arrives that Mr. March is ill, Jo sells her long luxurious hair for $25 to send with her mother, which gives Mrs. March peace of mind that she will have enough money to visit her husband and help him heal. Jo also successfully cheers up Laurie when she sees him staring wistfully out his bedroom window; she visits him and tells him stories. Jo’s act of kindness expels Laurie’s loneliness and establishes a basis for a strong friendship between the two of them. LITTLE WOMEN is a tribute to the power of kindness in alleviating hardships and generating positive outcomes.

      The first time I read LITTLE WOMEN, I merely focused on the personalities of the characters, their trials, and their decisions. Like the LITTLE WOMEN in the story, I fixated on the worries of a young woman—the search for an identity, love, and acceptance.  I didn’t have the life perspective to contemplate the larger lessons leaking out from between the pages of the story. This time around, though, I identified not only with the LITTLE WOMEN, but also with Mrs. March, an adult, mother, and wife, burdened with personal flaws and family responsibilities, yet striving to live a purposeful and happy life. I paused often, to consider the messages that Alcott may have consciously or subconsciously intended to convey, and connected those messages to my own life. This time, I discovered LITTLE WOMEN’S wisdom.

      Please share in the comments if you have ever reread a story and come away with a new perspective. What did you learn?

      Also, check out my novel, LEARNING TO WHISTLE, published in 2026 by She Writes Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, a Winner for Women’s Fiction in the 2026 International Book Awards.