Amber's Donkey: The heart-warming tale of how a donkey and a little girl healed the scars of each other's troubled pasts

by Julian Austwick, Tracy Austwick

‘The first time Shocks saw Amber coming, he lowered his head so she could wrap her arms around his nose. It was as if they understood each other’s pain. Like two broken beings, helping each other.’ When Shocks the donkey was left for dead on a farm in Ireland, no one ever thought he would make a full recovery. When Amber and her twin sister Hope were born 26 weeks premature, it was Amber who was separated from her family and rushed into theatre for an emergency tracheostomy. Her parents were given the devastating news that she had Cerebral Palsy and would be unlikely to walk or talk. Then Amber met Shocks at the Donkey Sanctuary and their lives were changed
for good. This is their touching story of recovery through friendship.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2016

Reviews

[María Alcaide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tender, hopeful, cute, heartbreaking at moments... Wonderful!

[Marija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtakingly beautiful!
Miracles do exist, you only need to believe in the power of love and friendship.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, heart-warming true story of how poor old Shocks the donkey, who had been badly traumatised himself, helped a disabled girl to speak and interact with the world around her. Tissue alert: several times I had to pull myself together and stop snivelling...

[Loes maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Als er in Ierland een ezel voor dood wordt achtergelaten, wordt de hulp ingeschakeld van de ezelopvang. Als ze de ezel gaan redden zien ze pas hoe erg dat de ezel verwaarloost is. De ezel heeft erg veel wonden en dan komen ze er ook nog achter dat de eigenaar bleekmiddel in de wonden heeft gegooid

Ergens anders wordt er een tweeling genaamd Hope en Amber geboren. De tweeling is veel te vroeg geboren en hebben de nodige problemen. Maar met Amber gaat het erg slecht. Amber heeft een hersenverlamming en ze denken dat ze misschien nooit zal kunnen praten of lopen. Haar ouders zijn ten einde raad, maar ze laten het er niet bij zitten. Als Amber bij een therapiecentrum met ezels komt, zien de ouders hun dochter veranderen. De mensen van het centrum zien tegelijkertijd de ezel genaamd Shocks ook veranderen. Het lijkt erop dat de 2 elkaar beter maken.

Het is een prachtig ontroerend boek, waarbij je heel duidelijk kunt zien dat dieren ook zeker gevoelens hebben. Ook de machteloosheid van de ouders, voel je erg goed in het verhaal. Het is ook prachtig om te zien hoe Amber en Shocks elkaar meer zelfvertrouwen geven.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming, tear jerking, smile inducing and all round an amazing story. I sponsor a donkey at this sanctuary and have met, groomed and had cuddles with the donkeys. My visit was on a day where my chronic illnesses left nee feel in pain and very unwell, but the visit to the sanctuary somehow eased all my symptoms and I left feeling calm and content. A beautiful read, well written and relatively quick. I'd definitely recommend.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me the title of this book did not really reflect the content. There was a chapter on what little was known of the background of the donkey, however, the majority of the book focussed on the extensive difficulties of the little girl and of course her family. There is no doubt the donkey was of very significant benefit to both the child and the family. I was hoping for more detail of the child donkey connection. A great book if you wish to read about the child (not a genre I favour) however not so great if your interest is more on the animal interaction.

[Ingrid Self · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at my local library, thought it looked interesting and indeed it was. It's heart-breaking in parts and heart-warming in others, and tears fell down my face for a good third of it. (I don't cry) . It's a lovely story of a young couple and their twins, an abused, rescued donkey and how they all discover each other etc etc. A splendid Sunday afternoon/evening read, not too heavy but meaningful.

[Sophie Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, even more poignant for me as I am one of the many adopters of Shocks the donkey, at Birmingham sanctuary. 😍 Reading about his harrowing story and his rehabilitation was heartbreaking, but the friend for life he found in Amber and the transformation for both of them is so heartwarming. ❤️

[Sharonnorbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book An amazing story of a girl with health needs and her special friend .it shows how animals can have a healing power.

What a fantastic book An amazing story of a girl with health needs and her special friend .it shows how animals can have a healing power.

[Lin SINGH-BARRINGTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly remarkable and redeeming story, perfect for a person recovering from a trauma. A true story, this moving book will give you moments of soppiness and smiles. I'd definitely recommend this story.

[Charlotte Louise Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was truly one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. The bond between Shocks and Amber is so heartwarming. It was definitely a tear-jerker but I would recommend it to everyone. Such a beautiful story.

[ann white · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was a complete surprise. I have laughed and cried throughout the poignant moments, but loved the message of hope. It is so uplifting and full of hope that I have recommended this book to everyone.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is brilliant. A heartwarming story of how an abused donkey and a poorly little girl, find each other, encourage each other and are both better off because of their friendship.

[Kathrina Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story of 2 troubled friends and how their friendship healed each other.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down such a heart warming story

[Beth Begley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best feel good book in a long time

I’ve loved reading this story, a lot of up and down moments, so have tissues at the ready! But it’s a great feel good book

[Harri · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce n'est pas forcément très bien écrit mais j'ai trouvé que c'était une belle histoire

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a heartwarming story that reduced me to tears at times. Very much enjoyed this book.

[Annette O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

it made me cry in places but a very good read

[Gail Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly wonderful

Such a heartwarming and beautiful friendship, an emotional read from beginning to end. Thank you for being there Donkey Sancuary.

[Sanne Werkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soms een beetje dramatisch geschreven, maar over het algemeen erg mooi en zo'n mooi verhaal!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

very heartwarming story showing the healing powers of animals.

[Eva Hechenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses schöne Buch beruht auf einer wahren Geschichte!
Es handelt von Shocks und Amber. Shocks ist ein Esel, der von einem schlechten Platz gerettet wird. Er wurde dort misshandelt und hat sowohl physische als auch psychische Narben davongetragen. Er kommt auf die Eselstation und seine Narben heilen auch, allerdings kann er keine Freundschaften schließen.
Dann haben wir noch Amber, ein kleines Mädchen, dass viel zu früh auf die Welt kam und seitdem sie auf die Welt gekommen ist, gesundheitliche Probleme hat. Sie kann nicht alleine Atmen, nicht alleine Laufen…
Als sie eines Tages in das Eselzentrum kommt, passiert etwas Unglaubliches, zwischen Amber und Shocks scheint eine Seelenverwandtschaft zu bestehen und so nehmen die Dinge ihren Lauf….

Hier haben wir eine, wie ich finde, eine wirklich reizende Geschichte über eine Mensch – Tierbeziehung. Ich fand es sehr interessant zu erfahren, wie die beiden sich vermisst haben und sich beide auch der Esel wieder gefreut haben, wenn sie sich länger nicht getroffen haben.
Man kann sich nicht vorstellen, was Menschen durchgemacht haben, die sowas durchmachen. Die Ängste und Sorgen, die die Austwicks hatten, waren sehr schöne beschrieben. Das Gefühl, den Zwilling zu vernachlässigen, aber wie sie zuerst auch nicht wollten, dass Hope alleine in den Kindergarten geht, weil dann Amber zurückstecken müsste. Und wie die beiden eigentlich alles zurückließen um sich um die beiden zu kümmern, war sehr gut beschrieben und ich habe wirklich mitgelitten, als Amber wieder ins Krankenhaus musste.
Ich fand es sehr spannend, wie erzählt wurde, als die beiden sich das erste Mal getroffen haben und wie die beiden reagiert haben. Schön war es wie beide Fortschritte machten, auch Shocks hat das erste Mal geschrien, als Amber auch zu reden begonnen hat.
Schöne Erzählung dieses Buch, mir hat auch der Schreibstil zugesagt, weil normalerweise lese ich keine Biographien oder ähnliche Bücher, weil ich die meisten fad finde, das war aber hier nicht der Fall.

[Liv James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!! There are no words to describe the immense feeling of love and respect you get from reading this book. A must read!

[Janet Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than I'd anticipated - in fact it was quite a rollercoaster of a read, and I enjoyed it. Excellent for a light, summer read and quite inspirational

[Sheila Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really exceptional story of the link between a disabled child and a severely traumatised donkey. I'd love to know how Amber is now several years after the ending of the book.

[nope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine wunderschöne lebensbejahende Geschichte, die einen an Wunder glauben lässt!

[Louise Marshall-jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story !!! Thanks to this story I have now adopted the donkey in the story !!!

[Michael Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an inspirational book, so well written!