UPDATE: The visit by the author, scheduled for November 17, 2020, has been postponed until October 5, 2021 due to the pandemic.
Lebanon County Reads






When Christopher McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when Sherman arrived, he was so sick he could barely move. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman’s body but his mind as well. The best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job, so Christopher decided to teach Sherman to run. He’d heard about burro racing–a unique type of race where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to mining days–and decided he and Sherman would enter the World Championship in Colorado.
Easier said than done. In the course of Sherman’s training, Chris would have to recruit several other runners, both human and equine, and call upon the wisdom of burro racers, goat farmers, Amish running club members, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers. Along the way, he shows us the life-changing power of animals, nature, and community.
From the author’s website
People are saying:
“A delight, full of heart and hijinks and humor . . . McDougall is a gifted storyteller who gets to the heart of the human-animal connection.”
—John Grogan, author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog

from the author’s website
Trained as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, Christopher McDougall covered wars in Rwanda and Angola before writing his international bestseller, Born to Run and Natural Born Heroes. His fascination with the limits of human potential led him to create the Outside magazine web series, “Art of the Hero.” Born to Run is currently being made into a feature film starring Matthew McConaughey.
From the author’s website
2018 – America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie