Smart Ass: How a Donkey Challenged Me to Accept His True Nature and Embrace My Own

In this winning tale, Winslow (Over My Head), a City College of New York professor emerita of earth sciences, recounts facing her midlife crisis by purchasing, rather than the typical sports car or boat, a donkey—and not the docile companion she expected. When she arrives at an upstate New York farm to meet Caleb, the initially placid animal soon tries to show Winslow who the real boss is in their relationship. Trainers attempt to persuade Winslow to take a firmer hand, but it takes a terrifying physical interaction with Caleb to underscore the importance of doing so. Seriously contemplating selling him, Winslow instead sends Caleb to a “boot camp” training program. While he’s there, Winslow realizes, during an intensely uncomfortable faculty meeting, that she’s acting the way Caleb does when scared —“I had feinted and dodged to cover my fears”—and gathers the courage to speak up against shortsighted college administrators. In an amusing coda, although Caleb goes on to become a prize-winning show animal at county fairs, the stubborn animal continues to make clear that, while he may be trained, he’s far from broken. This unusual, engaging story of a woman and her donkey will undoubtedly win many hearts. [em](Nov.) [/em]