Running with Sherman: How a Rescue Donkey Inspired a Rag-tag Gang of Runners to Enter the Craziest Race in America

by Christopher McDougall

Dogs are even more comforting than your guy, at least at night; in 2018, animal behaviorists at Canisius College researched the sleeping habits of people who shared their beds with a pet and found that out of nearly 1,000 women, the majority had “better, more restful sleep” when they cuddled with a dog rather than with their husbands.

Normally, up to 75 percent of all prisoners who are released will be arrested again within five years. But among prisoners who’ve worked with animals, the recidivism rate tends to be as low as 10 percent.

“Contact with companion animals resulted in greater improvement of ADHD symptoms, better learning, and superior school

while goats have horizontal slits, giving them a panoramic view of approaching threats.

Sam’s uncle knew that happiness, health, and security come from devoting yourself to two things—your family and your

Distance and envy are two poisons that can destroy any community, and that’s why the Amish have a problem with cars, fashion, and even electricity: they let you travel too far, show off too much, and stare at screens instead of faces.

“neurodiverse,” a term Hal prefers to “autistic” because it “opens the possibilities,” as Hal puts it, “and sets aside stereotypes.”

“Laredo and Boogie taught me the best lesson for dealing with a child like Harrison: you have to have more time than they do. If you rush, you lose.”

“It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you

“Animals don’t do things out of spite. They’re not trying to teach you a lesson. That’s the biggest mistake people make with animals, getting this idea that what they do has something to do with you.

Animals bring out the best in everybody.”

was weird, the way the three of us saw things so differently yet liked one another so much.

“It’s so rare these days for an American family to have four generations living close to each other,”

“There’s this Burmese saying that always stuck with me: ‘Fear that thing, do that thing.’ ”

“You never know what kind of demons somebody is facing,”